The driver of a semi-truck that collided with the bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team last April has just been sentenced to 8 years in prison.
On April 6, 2018, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu failed to stop at a highway intersection and crashed into the Humboldt Broncos’ team bus. In total, 16 people died and 13 more were injured.
In January, he pleaded guilty to all 29 charges laid against him; these included 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
See also:
- Semi-truck driver pleads guilty to all charges in Humboldt Broncos bus crash
- GoFundMe created for victims of Humboldt bus crash
According to CBC, the crown prosecution called for a sentence of 10 years in prison while the defence, without offering an explicit recommendation, cited cases of dangerous driving that only resulted in 1.5 to 4.5 years.
After the court heard nearly 100 impact statements from victims and their families, acting Judge Inez Cardinal ruled a sentence of 8 years. She acknowledged that Sidhu was remorseful but had to take into account the number of people who were killed, injured, or affected in the crash.
After the incident, support for the team poured in from around the globe. A GoFundMe campaign launched for the Broncos raised over $15 million, which was divided among the families of the crash victims.
Since then, the Saskatchewan government has promised to install rumble strips, lights, additional, signs, and road markers in the area where the crash took place and along other highways in the province.
