No children hurt after van crashes into daycare in Stony Plain

STONY PLAIN -- No children were injured after a van crashed into a daycare in Stony Plain.

Parkland RCMP say the incident occurred shortly before 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 4, at the Young Champions Daycare near 50 Avenue and 48 Street. It's reported that a van collided with the building and that a female employee of the daycare was taken to hospital.

"Upon police arrival, the children inside had already been evacuated and accounted for by staff," said Theresa Martins, Media Liaison with the Parkland RCMP detachment. "One daycare employee was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries."

After arriving on scene, police began working with daycare staff to reunite the children with their families. It's also reported that a gas leak was caused by the collision, prompting the evacuation of the daycare along with several buildings in the area.

"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 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."

The male driver of the vehicle was taken into custody and underwent a medical examination. Though an investigation is ongoing, initial information obtained by the RCMP revealed that there were 18 children and two adults inside the daycare at the time of the incident.