Children safe, 1 employee injured after van drives into daycare west of Edmonton
Posted June 4, 2026 12:06 pm.
Last Updated June 4, 2026 6:22 pm.
Authorities are trying to determine why a man sped through an intersection and slammed his van into the wall of a daycare west of Edmonton on Thursday morning, but they specify he is not in police custody.
Parkland RCMP say there is no indication the man in his 30s intended to hit the Young Champions Daycare in Stony Plain.
“We do not currently have grounds for any arrest,” Insp. Kevin McGillivray, the detachment commander for the Parkland RCMP, told reporters outside the daycare.
Police say they have not ruled out drugs, alcohol, speed, or a medical episode as factors in the collision. “As we progress in our investigation, that will lead us to where we need to go,” McGillivray explained.
A daycare employee, a woman in her 20s who was in the room where the van breached the wall, was transported to an Edmonton-area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She was found by first responders with a “large amount of debris laying on her from the collision,” according to Insp. McGillivray.
No children were injured. “The daycare staff evacuated the children quickly and brought them to a close-by business, and as of right now they’ve all been reunited with family,” the RCMP inspector said.
There were 18 children and two adults in the daycare at the time.
The van burst into the daycare’s kitchen area around 11 a.m., rupturing a natural gas line in the process. The building and those within a one-block radius were evacuated because of the gas leak.
“It’s definitely a safety concern when that gas is leaking. With the right levels, it could ignite with an ignition source,” McGillivray said.
The evacuation order was later lifted after Atco determined it was safe.
The man behind the wheel of the full-size van was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. RCMP initially incorrectly stated he was in police custody, later correcting the mistake during an afternoon media availability.
“There was a police officer who went to the hospital, I believe that’s where it became convoluted, but that driver is not in police custody,” Insp. McGillivray specified.
Drivers were to avoid the area to allow emergency personnel to work, though police said 48 Street would be opening again “fairly soon.”
Investigators are expected to remain on scene into the early evening.
