A quiet afternoon pickup at a Richmond Hill, Ontario daycare turned into one of the most devastating tragedies this community has ever witnessed — and now, a courtroom in Newmarket has brought a measure of accountability.

A 70-year-old man has entered a guilty plea to dangerous driving causing death following a daycare vehicle crash that killed an 18-month-old boy and injured dozens of others north of Toronto.

Vinay Kumar Gupta entered his plea to one count of dangerous operation causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm — charges that reflect the full, terrible weight of what unfolded on September 10, 2025.

According to an agreed statement of facts presented in court, Gupta arrived at the First Roots Early Education Academy parking lot just before 3 p.m. that day, there to collect his two grandchildren.

What happened next was swift, catastrophic, and irreversible.

While attempting to park his nearly brand-new electric SUV, the vehicle mounted a raised concrete sidewalk and surged through the building's exterior window, tearing through three separate classrooms before finally coming to a stop.

The SUV covered nearly 18.7 metres in just five seconds, moving through each classroom with enough force to strike children and staff in its path.

In the first room alone, eight children and a staff member were struck.

Another eight children were hit in the second classroom, and the vehicle continued into a third room, striking eight more children and two additional staff members before stopping.

In total, 24 children and three adult staff members were injured in the daycare vehicle crash.

Among the youngest victims was 18-month-old Liam Riazati, who did not survive.

Another child suffered life-altering injuries, and a further child sustained broken bones and head trauma — injuries that will follow these families long after any courtroom proceeding concludes.

Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed no evidence of braking at any point during the incident, with the vehicle's rear brake lights never activating throughout the entire sequence of events.

The SUV had fewer than 2,600 kilometres on the odometer at the time of the crash — a detail that raised serious questions about driver familiarity with newer electric vehicle technology.

Court documents noted that because the vehicle was both nearly new and electrically powered, the driver may not have been fully acquainted with how its controls operated.

Gupta told police he believed he was pressing the brake pedal and felt it was not responding — when in fact, a collision reconstruction report confirmed he had been pressing the accelerator the entire time.

Ontario's provincial government responded to the initial September 2025 incident by proposing changes to parking safety standards outside licensed child-care facilities — a sign that this tragedy reverberated far beyond Richmond Hill.

Residents in the area were visibly shaken in the days following the crash, gathering near the site to leave flowers and stuffed animals in memory of the toddler who lost his life.

For a community that prides itself on being a safe place to raise children, this crash struck at something deeply personal.

Gupta was arrested at the scene on the day of the incident and was subsequently released on bail pending court proceedings.

A sentencing hearing is now scheduled for December 8, where the court will determine what consequences follow this guilty plea to dangerous driving causing death.

The case has reignited a broader conversation across Ontario about vehicle safety in school and daycare zones, and whether enough protections exist to guard the most vulnerable.