Stony Plain daycare evacuated after van hits building, gas leak detected

A building housing a daycare was evacuated Thursday morning west of Edmonton, after a van crashed into it.

Parkland County RCMP and the Stony Plain fire department responded just before 11 a.m. to Young Champions Daycare and OSC on 48 Street, near 50 Avenue.

RCMP said the children inside the daycare had already been evacuated and accounted for by staff when officers arrived. There were 18 children and two adults in the daycare when the full-size white van crashed into it.

The rest of the building was evacuated due to a gas leak. A few hours later, RCMP said ATCO gas deemed everything was safe and the evacuation was ended.

The Town of Stony Plain said firefighters conducted an emergency rescue operation involving one person.

A woman in her 20s who works at the daycare, as well as the man in his 30s driving the van, were both taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

RCMP said the man was taken into custody and was undergoing medical examinations.

“Our initial focus is on public safety. Now that the scene is stable, we will continue our investigation into the collision, including the actions of the driver leading up to the incident” said Parkland RCMP detachment commander Insp. Kevin McGillivray.

“We want to take this moment to thank the employees of the daycare for working so quickly to ensure the safety of the children in their care. The actions of these workers, as well as quick response from our partners at the Stony Plain Fire Department, were instrumental to ensuring the safety of all involved.”

Parents of children at Young Champions Daycare were being contacted directly, the town said, adding those affected were asked to follow instructions provided by daycare staff and emergency personnel.

Police said Mounties also worked with daycare staff to reunite the children with their families.

As of noon Thursday, there were a few road closures around the daycare to be mindful of but they ended later in the afternoon.

RCMP are asking anyone with dashcam or video footage of the area around 48 Street and 50 Avenue, between 10:30 and 11 a.m., to please contact the Parkland RCMP non-emergency line at 825-220-7267.

If you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip online.