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The Ontario government is proposing measures aimed at boosting safety at child-care facilities, and a man is facing dangerous driving charges after an SUV crashed into a daycare north of Toronto, killing a toddler and injuring six other children.
Three staff members were also hurt in the crash on Wednesday at First Roots Early Education Academy in Richmond Hill, Ont.
The boy who died was just 1 1/2 years old, police said. The other children, aged 18 months to three years old, were brought to hospital with a range of injuries. Police said two of them were still in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon.
Education Minister Paul Calandra said the government was proposing that operators and municipalities must prevent the use of parking spaces immediately adjacent to entryways, windows and exterior walls of classrooms or playgrounds at child-care facilities.
Calandra said accessible spaces and child-care facilities operating out of private homes would be exceptions.
He added that he has directed his ministry to work with service managers, inspectors and service providers to identify “vulnerabilities” to be addressed ahead of upcoming legislative changes.
“Our government will make any necessary legislative or regulatory amendments to municipal or landlord restrictions that currently prevent the installation of protective barriers, such as bollards, planters, elevated curbs and other physical infrastructure, to protect children and workers in these settings,” Calandra said in a statement posted on social media.
The First Roots Early Education Academy said it was “in a state of shock” after the crash.
“We wish to share our gratitude for the outpouring of support and sympathy and want to thank the emergency services personnel who assisted the affected children and their families, as well as our staff members,” it said in a statement on social media.
“We ask that our community be given privacy to grieve and recover in this unimaginably difficult time.”
Vinay Kumar Gupta, who was arrested at the scene in Richmond Hill, faces one count of dangerous operation causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. The 70-year-old was granted bail after a brief court appearance on Thursday.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said “at this time, there is no reason to believe the collision was deliberate.” He called it a “devastating” and “traumatic” event, and one that would be felt across the region.
Investigators at the scene had said in the early aftermath of the crash Wednesday that it did not appear to have been intentional. Police confirmed the man was the sole occupant of the vehicle, and they have not yet indicated what could have triggered the incident during the afternoon pickup time.
In a news release on Thursday, police said they continued to gather evidence and more charges could be laid. People with footage of the area were urged to come forward.
A judge in a Newmarket, Ont., court granted a publication ban on Thursday afternoon that covers information shared during Gupta’s bail hearing.
He was released on $25,000 bail with conditions including living with a surety, not driving a vehicle and not having the keys to any vehicles.
A Hyundai electric vehicle was pulled through the shattered window of the daycare and loaded onto a tow truck on Wednesday evening. It showed little visible damage aside from a dangling licence plate and broken glass on its hood.
On Thursday morning, the large window was boarded up with plywood and other pieces of lumber.
Just beneath it, a collection of stuffed animals sat facing the parking lot. Residents had also dropped off bouquets of flowers, a mini basketball and a candle.
A sign that read “please slow down” remained mounted on the wall next to the crash site.
Emirson Bekirovski was at work when he got a message from the daycare about an emergency that required him to pick up his four-year-old daughter.
“My wife came and she was pretty traumatized to see all the helicopters and the police cars,” Bekirovski said, adding that parents did not get much information as to what was happening other than instructions to bring their kids home.
Police confirmed a total of 96 kids were in multiple rooms at the centre when the crash happened.
“We’re obviously very happy that our daughter’s with us and safe, but obviously we’re pretty traumatized at the fact this happened so close to home,” said Bekirovski.
Ruth Brainis, a local resident and mother of two small children, said she was “devastated” and sick to her stomach when she heard of the crash.
Brainis attended the site on Thursday morning to lay flowers and pay her respects to the affected families.
“When it’s children, it hits really hard,” she said. “I can’t imagine the suffering these poor parents are going through. I don’t wish it on anybody.”
Hava Jouharchi has been a resident of Richmond Hill for more than 25 years and said she didn’t know what to think when she heard about the crash at the daycare her children once attended.
“My son was just passing by here like 10 minutes before it happened, and so that’s how I found out,” Jouharchi said.
“We don’t have anything like this happen and I was just shocked.”
Residents continued to stop by throughout the day to bring flowers and stuffed animals. Some of them brought their children. One father carried his young daughter as her mother laid down a bouquet.
Gupta is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Oct. 16.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2025.
Maan Alhmidi and Vanessa Tiberio, The Canadian Press
