Pierre Ny St-Amand, the bus driver who hit a daycare centre, was getting married in a month. “He had everything! A wife, children, a house, a car, ”says the one who was to act as a witness during the celebration. Sokkha Mey doesn’t understand what went through his friend’s head on the day of the tragedy.
The wedding of Pierre Ny St-Amand was to take place on March 11 in Longueuil, but the union was canceled following the arrest of the 51-year-old Laval resident. Two children died and six others were injured when the bus he was driving smashed through a wall at the Ste-Rose educational daycare. He faces nine counts, including two of premeditated murder.
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Pierre Ny St-Amand
“It’s something that will not happen,” confirmed Lili Beka, the notary who was to carry out the marriage. “It’s a difficult time for this family,” she explained.
Pierre Ny St-Amand has been in a relationship with the same woman for over 10 years. Her wedding was to go off without a fuss at the solicitor’s office in Greenfield Park. “They just wanted to sign the papers and formalize their marriage because they have been living together for 10 or 15 years and have children,” adds the notary.
Sokkha Mey confirms that her two friends have lived together for many years. The spouses had married religiously, but their union had no legal value. They are also parents of two children. “In our culture, we marry in a religious way […] Myself, I got married 14, 15 years ago and we had a big party. It was only two months ago that we decided to do it legally before the notary,” explains Mr. Mey, who is of Cambodian origin, like Pierre Ny St-Amand and his spouse.
“They wanted to do the same as us,” he adds. Mr. Mey therefore suggested that they use the services of the same notary, Lili Beka, who had celebrated her own union two months ago.
No clue
Sokkha Mey has been seeing Pierre Ny St-Amand “regularly” for eight or nine years, he says. Their two families see each other at their children’s birthday parties, at Christmas, for barbecues and at the swimming pool in the summer. “There was no clue,” says the man still in shock that his friend was able to drive his Société de transport de Laval (STL) vehicle into a daycare center crowded with little lives.
When I listened to the news that morning, I heard that a bus had rammed into a daycare, but I paid no attention to it. Around 11 a.m. or noon, when I learned [l’identité du chauffeur], I was stunned. I was no longer able to work.
Sokkha Mey, close to Pierre Ny St-Amand
The man assures that Pierre Ny St-Amand and his wife formed a united couple, even if they showed few signs of affection in public. “Their marriage was going very well. Financially too. Both work, they have a house, a car, the children go to school, they are fine, ”he lists.
“I confirm that I have not noticed any problems between them, violence or bickering. They loved each other. I can’t understand what happened,” he adds. To her knowledge, her boyfriend did not have a mental health problem either.
” I can not believe it. All his friends, we don’t understand, ”he laments.
A “nice man with zero problems”
Other members of Pierre Ny St-Amand’s entourage, who refuse to name themselves for professional reasons, have asked themselves so many questions since the tragedy.
“He was a nice guy, a nice guy with zero problems. There is nothing to suggest that he could have committed this gesture, nothing, ”says one of them, who was not aware of the fact that the accused was going to get married in March.
We are all anxious to know what the investigations will say. Everyone talks about it, but no one has answers.
A relative of Pierre Ny St-Amand who testifies on condition of anonymity
Adopted by a family from Sept-Îles, Pierre Ny St-Amand “had a difficult childhood and was often rejected by others,” adds another source who knew him at Montmorency College. “But there were never any additional signs. When we graduated in the late 1990s, he was involved with the graduate association. He was there with us, participated in the meetings. We are really stunned, ”says this person.
The director of student affairs at Collège Montmorency had taken Pierre Ny St-Amand “under his wing” at the time. The family of the director in question was also close to the accused, according to our information, and they had attended the religious wedding of the accused and his wife in 2012.