A 70-year-old man is now facing charges for dangerous driving after his SUV crashed into a daycare north of Toronto on Wednesday, resulting in the death of a toddler and injuries to six other children.
Vinay Kumar Gupta, who was taken into custody at the scene in Richmond Hill, Ont., has been charged with one count of dangerous operation causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He was granted bail following a short court appearance on Thursday.
The child who lost his life was just 1 1/2 years old, according to police. The other injured kids, aged between 18 months and three years, were taken to the hospital with various injuries.
As of Thursday morning, one of the injured children remained in critical condition at the hospital, police reported.
Three adult staff members from First Roots Early Education Academy also sustained injuries.
Authorities mentioned that it appears the crash was not intentional; however, they have not yet revealed what may have caused the incident during afternoon pickup time. They confirmed that Gupta was the only person inside the vehicle.
A judge in a Newmarket, Ont., court issued a publication ban on Thursday afternoon regarding information shared during Gupta’s bail hearing.
He was released on $25,000 bail with conditions that include living with a surety, not operating any vehicles and not possessing keys to any vehicles.
A Hyundai electric vehicle involved in the crash was pulled through the broken window of the daycare and loaded onto a tow truck on Wednesday evening. It showed minimal visible damage aside from a dangling license plate and shattered glass on its hood.
The large window had been boarded up with plywood and other lumber by Thursday morning.
Beneath it lay stuffed animals facing towards the parking lot. Residents had brought flowers, along with a mini basketball and a candle as tributes.
A sign reading “please slow down” remained attached to the wall near where the accident occurred.
Emirson Bekirovski received an emergency message from the daycare while he was at work asking him to pick up his four-year-old daughter immediately.
“My wife came and she was pretty traumatized to see all the helicopters and police cars,” Bekirovski recounted, noting that parents weren’t given much information about what happened other than directions to take their kids home.
Police confirmed there were 96 children present in multiple rooms at the center when this tragic event took place.
“We’re obviously very happy that our daughter’s with us and safe, but we’re pretty traumatized by how close this happened to home,” said Bekirovski.
The daycare released a statement late Wednesday via social media expressing their heartbreak over this incident.
One father carried his little girl while her mother laid down flowers nearby. Gupta is set for another court appearance on October 16th. By Maan Alhmidi and Vanessa Tiberio INsauga’s Editorial Standards and Policies Last 30 Days: 41,031 Votes All Time: 1 ,465 ,921 Votes 899 VOTES
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wrote in their statement. Ruth Brainis, a local resident with two small children herself said she felt “devastated” upon learning about what happened.“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time,”
s he expressed while visiting site Thursday morning to leave flowers for those affected.“When it’s children, it hits really hard,”
Hava Jouharchi has lived in Richmond Hill for over 25 years; she felt shocked when she heard about this tragedy occurring at her children’s former daycare.“I can’t imagine what these poor parents are going through. I don’t wish it on anybody.”
s he stated.“My son had just passed by here like 10 minutes before it happened,”
Residents continued arriving throughout day bringing flowers or stuffed animals; some brought their own kids along too.“We don’t usually have anything like this happen around here.”
One father carried his little girl while her mother laid down flowers nearby. Gupta is set for another court appearance on October 16th. By Maan Alhmidi and Vanessa Tiberio INsauga’s Editorial Standards and Policies Last 30 Days: 41,031 Votes All Time: 1 ,465 ,921 Votes 899 VOTES
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