DRIVER IN HUMBOLDT CRASH PLEADS GUILTY.
Truck driver in Humboldt Broncos crash pleads guilty
The driver of a transport truck involved in a deadly crash with the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team’s bus pleaded guilty Tuesday to all charges against him.
“I plead guilty, your honour,” Jaskirat Singh Sidhu said as he stood before a judge in a court in Melfort, Sask.
Sixteen people lost their lives and 13 players were injured when Sidhu’s semi-unit loaded with peat moss and the Broncos bus collided in rural Saskatchewan last April.
Sidhu was charged with 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 charges of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
“His position to me was, ‘I just want to plead guilty. I don’t want you to plea bargain. I don’t want a trial,”’ Sidhu’s lawyer, Mark Brayford, said outside court, his client beside him with his head down.
“Mr. Sidhu advised me: ‘I don’t want to make things any worse. I can’t make things any better, but I certainly don’t want to make them worse by having a trial.”’ Brayford, who recently took on the case, said more evidence still needs to be handed over to the defence, but Sidhu wanted to avoid further delays.
“He wanted the families to know that he’s devastated by the grief that he’s caused them,” Brayford said. “And he’s overwhelmed by the expressions of sympathy and kindness that some of the families and players have expressed to him in spite of the fact their grief is entirely his fault.” Crown lawyer Thomas Healey said he might need up to five days for sentencing, which is to begin Jan. 28, and would not be commenting until after that.
The maximum penalty for dangerous driving causing death is 14 years. It’s 10 years for dangerous driving causing bodily harm. The Broncos were on their way to a playoff game in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League when their bus and Sidhu’s rig collided at an intersection not far from Tisdale, Sask.
The bus was travelling north on Highway 35 and the semi was westbound on Highway 335, which has a stop sign.
A safety review of the rural crossroads done by a consulting firm for the Saskatchewan government was released last month. It said sight lines are a safety concern at the spot.
A stand of trees, mostly on private property, obstructs the view of drivers approaching from the south and east - the same directions the bus and semi-trailer were coming from when they collided, the review said.