Watch: One year after a car crashed into a Laval daycare
LAVAL — Last November 12 was nothing short of a nightmare for parents and educators at the Face à Face daycare in Laval.
An 80-year-old driver accidentally crashed through the front window, sending three children to hospital, including four-year-old Tiffany Huynh, who sustained serious head injuries.
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One year later, parents and staff members wonder why the driver has never come forward to apologize.
Police said that they could not confirm whether the driver in question ever got her driver’s licence back.
“She panicked, she got her pedals mixed up and straight-lined for the daycare,” said Laval police officer Franco Di Genova.
The daycare’s owner told Global News that she remembers the incident like it happened yesterday.
“I remember being in my office and hearing the loud crash and coming out in a panic and seeing pretty much the children under the car,” said Christina Strigas, who performed CPR on little Tiffany after she was pinned under the car tire for several minutes.
READ MORE: Parents of toddler injured in Laval daycare crash speak out for first time
“I just remember that there was blood coming out of everywhere, her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and it was just like something from out of a movie, there was glass everywhere we were on our hands and knees pulling her out,” said Strigas, who was still clearly distraught.
The accident happened just before 2 p.m., when a dozen children were sleeping on the floor in the front room of the daycare.
Had the car hit in the morning when children were up, educators are convinced it would’ve been deadly
“It would have been a catastrophe,” said educator Lucie Van Wassenhoven.
“Looking back now, it was really a miracle that day!”
But what many parents and educators from the daycare don’t understand is why the driver was never charged.
“There was no criminal intent.”
“I believe she was going to the jewellery shop next door so her intent was to come in park normally and end of story,” said Di Genova.
A mechanical inspection showed there was nothing wrong with the vehicle, and surveillance video confirmed it was human error.
According to investigators, the driver lost control while entering the parking lot and mistook the gas pedal for the break.
READ MORE: Police finally speak to driver in Laval daycare car crash
“I was really surprised, shocked, hurt and angry that this lady never called never came by the daycare to say, ‘You know what it was an accident, I’m sorry,'” said Strigas.
“So that there could just be a little closure for her, for Tiffany, as well for the parents and for us.”
Tiffany is still being monitored closely by doctors, and while her parents feel fortunate, they also wonder why the driver never acknowledged their daughter’s suffering.
“After two weeks in hospital, not even a card for my daughter to say sorry,” said Tiffany’s mother, Kim Hoang.
“To be honest with you, we get so angry,” said Quan Huynh, Tiffany’s father.
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For confidentiality reasons, police would not say whether the driver got her licence back, but detectives did require she take a new driving exam.
“Did the evaluator take away her driver’s permit to say she’s not competent to drive a vehicle? It’s possible. On the other hand, maybe she did pass the evaluation, and she’s still driving. That we don’t know,” said Di Genova, who added that police would need a warrant from a judge to obtain that information.
Most of the children who were sleeping in the front room at the time of the accident are still at the daycare.
Christina Strigas loves every single one of them, but she said she’ll always have a special place in her heart for little Tiffany.
“Every day I look at her and the special bond is there forever.”
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