‘Always new expenses’
Lawsuits filed as anniversary of Humboldt Broncos bus crash nears
It’s been almost two years since the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan and with the solemn anniversary comes a closing legal window that has seen several lawsuits filed in court.
Sixteen people died and 13 were injured after a transport truck barrelled through a stop sign and into the path of the bus carrying the junior hockey team on April 6, 2018.
The inexperienced driver of the truck, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu of Calgary, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
A proposed class-action lawsuit was filed Friday in Regina Court of Queen’s Bench against Sidhu and his former employer. It also lists the governments of
Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as the federal government.
“The people wanting to go forward aren’t motivated financially so much as these were wrongs by governments,” said lawyer Tony Merchant. He pointed to the trucking industry as a major concern.
Carol and Lyle Brons are listed as the plaintiffs. Their 24-year-old daughter, Dayna, was the team’s athletic therapist and was killed in the crash.
Also listed are all the others who were on the bus, their families, all hockey team staff, billet families and first responders who treated the victims.
At least one family said it has asked to be removed from the class action, which still needs to be certified by the courts.
Several other lawsuits have also been filed.
Russ and Raelene Herold of
Montmartre, Sask., were among the first of the families to file a few months after the collision. They are suing the truck driver, the Calgary-based company that employed him and the bus manufacturer. The lawsuit asks for damages and a court order that all buses carrying sports teams in Saskatchewan be equipped with seatbelts.
The couple’s son, 16-yearold Adam, was the youngest player on the team to be killed.
Their suit has since been joined by the families of three players and an assistant coach who died: Jaxon Joseph, 20; Logan Hunter, 18; Jacob Leicht, 19; and Mark Cross, 27.
No statement of defence has been filed in that lawsuit.
Injured Broncos player Derek Patter, 21, filed in March against the truck driver and the trucking company. The Alberta government joined as a plaintiff to recoup health-care costs.
Kevin Matechuk of Colonsay, Sask., said his family would also be filing a lawsuit against the trucker and trucking company on behalf of his son Layne, 20, who is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury.
“He will need special care. We don’t know if he will ever be able to live on his own. We’re hoping so. It’s still our hope and dream.”
It’s the same situation for Ryan Straschnitzki, 20, of Airdrie, Alta., who was paralyzed from the chest down. His suit also takes on the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments, as well as the team’s bus driver.
“There’s always new expenses and he’s going to have to be taken care of for the rest of his life,” said his mother, Michelle Straschnitzki.