1 child killed, 7 more hurt after vehicle drives into Richmond Hill, Ont., daycare: police

One child has been killed and seven other children were injured after a vehicle drove into a daycare in Richmond Hill on Wednesday, police say.

Police say the child who died was a one and a half-year-old boy.

Of the five other children hurt, one is in serious condition. The remainder are in non-life-threatening condition, along with three staff members. Police say the children struck range in age from one and a half to three years old.

A man in his 70s was arrested at the scene, according to York Regional Police. Police do not believe the crash was intentional.

There's no word on charges.

"We are still determining the sequence of events, however information right now has led us to determine that this was not a deliberate act," Const. Kevin Nebrija told reporters near the scene.

The incident happened at about 3 p.m. in the area of Yonge Street and Nottingham Drive, south of Gamble Road, police said.

At the time, there were 96 children at the daycare. All of the children have been accounted for and all parents have notified, police said.

Nebrija said the vehicle, an SUV, was in a parking lot before the crash and "for reasons unknown," the man drove through the vehicle the front window of the daycare.

"As you can imagine, this was a very chaotic scene," Nebrija said. "We can appreciate that this was a very alarming call for parents to receive and to attend at the end of their day."

Parents were asked to go to an area on Thornbush Court, a nearby street on the north side of the building, to pick up their children.

Police are asking people to avoid the area and to expect significant delays.

Yonge Street will be closed from Gamble Road to Brookside Road.