One year later: Parents, first responders deal with trauma after fatal Laval daycare bus crash

A few steps from the kindergarten in Laval, a memorial is dedicated to four-year-old Jacob Gauthier, one year after he was tragically killed when a city bus crashed into the building's front entrance.

The memorial, set up by the preschooler's mother, is filled with personal messages such as “I miss you” and “I love you,” hand-painted by children at Sainte-Rose Garderie School, north of Montreal.

On top plaque: “When words fail. May these little stone steps carry you with our love.”

Thursday marks one year since Gauthier and four-year-old Maeva David were both killed in a crash that shocked the country and left a devastating mark on the lives of both families.

The families of the children who survived the tragedy are still dealing with the trauma.

Sebastien Courtois recalled how he first learned of the crash on February 8, 2023, when he got a frantic call from his wife about 20 minutes after dropping off his son Jules Courtois at daycare. At first, he could not understand how the accident happened, because the road is very far from the entrance of the kindergarten.

His wife arrived before him and called to say that she could not find her son. He said he may have been killed by a bus that plowed through the front of the building. He screamed so loudly that he had to hang up the phone.

Sebastien Courtois' son Jules was pinned under the bus when it crashed into the kindergarten. (Source: Information from Noovo)

As he got into his car, his mind was exhausted. His immediate thought was that his family of four was now down to three.

When he finally reached the kindergarten, he was relieved to see his little boy on a stretcher with paramedics. The family went to St. Justin Children's Hospital in Montreal for emergency surgery.

“At that point… I was like a robot. I had no emotion, no tears. I had to be strong for my wife, for my family, because I know they saw it,” he told CTV News.

“For my son, he needs help and… His father and mother must be strong, stronger than anything else.”

Sebastien Courtois and his family. (Submitted photo)

Jules spent several minutes under the bus, near the engine block, his face burned. Now five years old, the youngster has a scar on his face, but it doesn't seem to bother him.

“As Jules says, 'It's my bus scar, but it's beautiful.' She thinks her scar is beautiful,” her mother, Virginia, told Noovo Info.

After the tragedy, he said his wife and children received help to process the horrific scenes that day. “But I need help at this time,” he said.

The help they received, he said, did not come without challenges. He said his wife was on vacation after the accident, but only received 90 percent of her pay, and psychological support covered $94.50, with sessions costing $150.

People who saved children

Hamdi Benchaabaneh, who lives next door to the kindergarten, was one of the first responders to arrive at the scene and joined other parents in rushing to save what they could. He immediately went through the debris from the accident site and pulled out the children from under the bus.

“It was tough,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “The scene lasted five minutes, but it was a bit of madness.”

Hamdi Benchaabane was one of the first to arrive at the scene after the bus crashed into the kindergarten. (CTV News)

After the man got off the bus, Benchaabane threw the bus driver to the ground, took off all his clothes, and started screaming silently.

Laval firefighters were among the first emergency personnel to arrive at the scene.

Operations Lt. Patrick Gauthier said all the information while on the road indicated that the bus was involved in an accident and may have been injured. When he reached there, he immediately saw people running and shouting.

“You soon realize that the scene is very different from what you're used to,” he told Noovo Info.

From left: Laval firefighters Vincent Mercier, Sébastien Courville, David-Alexandre Clapin and Patrick Gauthier recount the rescue operation they were called to at a Laval kindergarten on February 8, 2023. (Source: Information from Noovo)

Firefighters swung into action, simultaneously rescuing the trapped children and trying to calm them down.

“I was one of the first on the scene. We had to get them out so they wouldn't see the mess we had. We put a tarp on the bus and then made it look like an exit,” said the operations manager. Sebastian Courville.

Gauthier said his team stayed close after the crash and talking about the tragedy helped him deal with the trauma.

“It's being in a group. It helps us figure it out later and then go through it together. It helps us get through it,” he said.

“You can't move 100 percent. You always have images, sounds, movements. You learn to live with it. It's part of your baggage.”

The fatal accident still left scars on the people who were there, but reunited the families of the victims.

Benchabane said a year later he was in contact with other parents and witnesses.

Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer said the entire city was affected by the day's events and many questions remain unanswered.

“The hard part is that we still don't know what happened. We still don't understand why the driver did such a horrible thing. We need answers to grieve. We hope to get answers in the next few months,” he said on the eve of the one-year anniversary.

A preliminary hearing for accused driver Pierre New Saint-Amand is scheduled for March 25. New St. Amand faces two counts of first-degree murder and seven other counts, including attempted murder and aggravated assault.

Now he is detained at the Philippe Pinel Psychiatric Institute. Psychiatric examination remains closed by court decision.

With files from Denise Roberts and Noovo Information in CTV News Montreal