Truck driver charged in Broncos bus crash
Driver facing 29 charges in deadly Humboldt Broncos crash
Three months after the crash that killed 16 people, including 10 players, with the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, a driver of a transport truck faces 29 criminal charges. On Friday, RCMP announced that Jaskirat Sidhu, a 29-year-old man from Calgary, has been charged with 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and 13 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm. Sidhu was arrested Friday without incident at his residence in Calgary. He was remanded and is scheduled to appear next week in Saskatchewan court.
“It’s not closure by any stretch, but it’s a step toward that,” said Scott Thomas, whose son Evan was among those who died in the collision.
“I think it validated everything I believed in my heart from the minute when I pulled up on the accident scene.” Sixteen people died and another 13 were injured after the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team’s bus — bound for a playoff game in Nipawin — collided with a tractor-trailer north of Tisdale just after 5 p.m. on April 6. The driver of the semi was not injured in the collision. Thomas said the police investigation and the possibility of charges being laid have not been a constant presence in his mind. Instead, Thomas and his family have been “grieving for our son every day.”
“Maybe it’s part of the grieving process that we’re going through. I haven’t felt a lot of anger yet. Maybe that’s going to come in this next little bit,” he said.
The Broncos thanked RCMP and its investigators for their work over the past three months, saying in a statement that the organization “has faith in the justice system and we will be watching closely as this court process plays out.
“Our primary focus continues to be supporting the survivors, families and others that were directly impacted by the tragedy on April 6.”
Paul Leray, the grandfather of Broncos player Jacob Leicht, said it has been a “long, hard, tough, emotional road” in the three months since the crash. Leicht was among those who died in the collision. The charges, Leray said, don’t “bring our grandson back but it might give a good warning to others who are driving vehicles of that nature or anybody to be more diligent with their laws of the road.”
Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench said emotions remain raw in the community. People have been waiting anxiously for RCMP to conclude the investigation but many have also been looking forward to summer taking their minds off the tragedy, even momentarily. The charges have brought the overwhelming sadness back to the forefront, he said. “I know a lot of family members really needed to hear the results, so they can put some closure on this as well, and I think that will happen as the court proceedings happen.
We have to, I think, put our faith in the justice system to get to the bottom of this,” Muench said. RCMP officials met with families of the Broncos Friday — some in Saskatoon, others in Edmonton, and the rest via video stream — to inform them of the investigation results and the arrest. Saskatchewan RCMP Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said he knows it’s been difficult for loved ones as they’ve waited for the outcome of the investigation.
“This important work was necessary,” Zablocki said. According to RCMP Supt. Derek Williams, a core team of 20 investigators — with as many as 100 contributing to the investigation — conducted over 60 interviews, took over 6,000 photographs, analyzed all documentation available, and used 3D technology to gather evidence using drones. The speed of the vehicles, point of impact, position of vehicles, impairment, road and weather conditions, and witness evidence were all considered, RCMP said. There were no impaired driving charges laid on Friday, Williams noted. “Every piece of information was carefully examined,” said Williams. “This is a tragic event, first and foremost.” According to Williams, the maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing death is 14 years. The maximum for dangerous driving causing harm is 10 years. Williams said RCMP consulted extensively with the Crown before Criminal Code charges were laid, as opposed to lesser charges under the Traffic Safety Act. Investigators “acquired evidence” that the semi in- volved in the collision was being “operated in a manner dangerous to the public,” Williams added.
The father of Broncos player Graysen Cameron, an 18-year-old who suffered back injuries in the crash, said the wait didn’t bother him.
“I’m happy they took their time and did it right,” said Tyler Cameron of Olds, Alta., adding that he feels the charges were “appropriate.” “We’ll let the RCMP and the courts now do their jobs.”