Parents of crash victim file lawsuit

The family of one of the Humboldt Broncos players killed in a highway crash has filed a lawsuit alleging a semi-truck driver with inadequate training failed to stop at a flashing stop sign at a rural intersection where trees partially obstructed the view of traffic before colliding with the junior hockey team’s bus.

The lawsuit further alleges the roof of the Broncos bus was not designed to withstand the crash and that the bus should have been equipped with seatbelts.

It asks for an unspecified amount of damages as well as court orders, including one which would declare that all buses carrying sports teams in Saskatchewan be equipped with seatbelts and other safety devices.

The Broncos were on their way to a playoff game when the crash happened north of Tisdale, Sask., on April 6. Sixteen people on the bus would die and 13 others were injured.

Russell and Raelene Herold of Montmartre, Sask., filed the statement of claim Monday in Regina court on behalf of their 16year-old son, Adam Herold, the youngest player on the team and one of its rising stars.

“Adam would have played in the National Hockey League,” claims the lawsuit. “Adam had the potential to earn approximately $20-$30 million over the course of his NHL hockey career.”

The statement of claim also says he would have taken over the family’s farm.

The document names the truck driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu of Calgary, as well as the Calgarybased trucking company that employed him, Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd. The bus manufacturer is listed as a defendant but could not be identified.