Lawyers to review report on criminal responsibility of Laval bus driver charged in daycare crash

Psychiatrists have presented a report on Pierre Ny St-Amand's state of mind when he drove a city bus into a daycare in Laval.

The report, which was requested by St-Amand's defence lawyer, Julien Lespérance Hudon, is sealed and the case has been delayed until June 13 to give the defence and the Crown time to analyze its contents. 

"There's work to do," Lespérance Hudon said outside the courtroom on Wednesday. "We haven't had the chance to read the report."

The case against St-Amand, who is facing several charges including two counts of first-degree murder, hinges on his mental state on the morning of Feb. 8 when he was at the wheel of a city bus that barrelled into a daycare killing two young children and injuring others. 

If the report, provided to the court by experts at the Philippe-Pinel psychiatric institute, found that St-Amand was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the crash that made him incapable of understanding what he was doing or of knowing that it was wrong, he could be deemed not criminally responsible for his actions.

The report is 22 pages and is the result of a 60-day evaluation. 

"We have to take the time to read the report and depending of its contents we will see what choices are before us going forward," prosecutor Karine Dalphond said outside the courtroom.

"Whether that's a counter-expertise, a common recommendation, we have no idea at the moment. We need to see about the next steps."

Ultimately, it will be up to the court to decide whether St-Amand is not criminally responsible.