‘Our little shooting star forever’: Parents mourn daughter killed in Laval daycare bus crash

The parents of Maëva David, the second child who was killed in the Laval daycare bus crash, say she was a “ray of sunshine who loved life.”

The child was identified in a letter sent by her parents to various francophone media outlets Monday, including La Presse.

They wrote she was “bursting with energy” but also capable of “profound attention and calm.”

“She was capable of anything, equipped with her extraordinary physical abilities and alertness,” the letter reads.

“She always had the right word to make you laugh or to make you react. Her daycare was an environment filled with life for her, where she loved to go play with her friends.”

Four-year-old Jacob Gauthier was the other young victim killed when a bus crashed into the Garderie Educative Ste-Rose daycare last week in Laval. Jacob’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday at Sainte-Rose-de-Lima church.

The alleged bus attack left six other children with injuries.

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Maëva’s parents say a ceremony in her honour will be held at Sainte-Rose-de-Lima church; the date has yet to be made public.

Maëva is survived by an older brother and sister.

“She will continue to shine in her own way by what she has taught us, every day, and by the indelible memories she leaves us, as well as by the lessons learned from the unspeakable event that stopped her little heart… but which will not stop her from remaining our little shooting star forever.”

Growing memorial outside church

Sainte-Rose-de-Lima church has been a gathering place for the community. A mass was held there last Friday in honour of the two victims, the injured, and daycare staff.

“For me, it was harder than it’s right now, because now it’s more close to one week of the events,” said the church’s pastor Michel Bouchard. “And then I met the parents of Jacob. I know him. I know them because I baptized the kids four years ago. And the other one, the other family. Well, I will meet them next Monday.”

There was a growing memorial outside the church Tuesday, nearly a week after the tragic event. A mountain of stuffed animals, and some messages of love were left on the front steps.

“It’s really touching to see that people are willing to give something or just to participate to the sorrow of the parents,” said Jocelyne Malo.

Meanwhile tributes continued to pour in.

“This tragedy is out of the ordinary. And I think it touches a lot of hearts, possibly beyond those borders of the neighbourhood,” Sainte-Rose resident Daniel Taillefer told CityNews.

For some residents, reading the letter from Maëva’s parents was simply too painful to do.

“It was too hard for me to read so I didn’t,” said Brigitte Bélanger. “But I wanted to come here because it’s necessary to mourn for everyone, for each parent.”

Pierre Ny St-Amand, a 51-year-old driver with the Société de transport de Laval (STL), was arrested at the scene and later charged with two counts of first-degree murder as well as seven other charges.

Police have yet to identify a motive for the alleged attack.

“It’s so heartbreaking,” Mary Calcara told CityNews Tuesday. “And I have grandkids, and you feel it.”

Reaction from daycare owner

The owner of the daycare also spoke publicly about last week’s tragedy in a letter published Tuesday by La Presse.

Nancy Gschwender recalled rushing to her daycare following the news of the tragedy, only to be left feeling powerless after police wouldn’t let her past the security barricades.

“To the team, to the director, I tell you: this feeling of helplessness haunts me,” she wrote in a portion of the letter directed to the daycare’s staff. “I wish I could chase away the images that will remain etched in your memory forever. But also know that you have all my admiration and my eternal gratitude. I’m proud of you.”

She said she is working with different authorities and levels of government to support the families of the children who attend the daycare and ensure they get the proper services.

—With files from The Canadian Press