Preliminary hearing scheduled for March in Laval daycare bus crash deaths

The preliminary hearing for a man accused of killing two children this year when a city bus was driven into a Laval, Que., daycare will begin on March 25.

Defence lawyer Julien Lesperance Hudon told a Laval court today that he plans to challenge the two charges of first-degree murder on the grounds that his client, Pierre Ny St-Amand, did not have criminal intent.

St-Amand, 51, who remains detained at a Montreal psychiatric hospital, appeared in court today by video conference.

Prosecutor Karine Dalphond says she plans to call about 10 witnesses during the four-day hearing, including a psychologist, a psychiatrist and St-Amand’s wife.

Dalphond says the hearing, which will determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial, will take place north of Laval in St-Jerome because a courtroom isn’t available in Laval.

A bus driver with the Laval transit corporation at the time of the crash, St-Amand was arrested after a city bus plowed into the front of a daycare on Feb. 8, killing two four-year-olds and injuring six other children.