Punjab-origin man owned truck involved in Canada accident

ON APRIL 6, A TRUCK OPERATED BY ADESH DEOL TRUCKING LTD, COLLIDED WITH A BUS KILLING 16 ICE HOCKEY PLAYERS

TORONTO : The truck that was involved in the accident on April 6 leading to the death of 16 players and personnel of the Humboldt Broncos, a junior ice hockey squad in Canada, was owned and operated by an IndoCanadian entrepreneur from Calgary in the province of Alberta.

The owner, identified in Canadian media reports as Punjab-origin Sukhmander Singh, has expressed his anguish over the collision and said he was “sorry for everything.”

That tragedy has shaken the country even as it claimed a 16th victim on Wednesday, Dayna Brons, an athletic therapist and the lone woman in the team bus.

The incident occurred on a highway as the semi-truck operated by Singh’s Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd collided with the bus, causing multiple fatalities and leading to national mourning, with the memorial service being attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The team from the small town of Humboldt in the province of Saskatchewan was on its way for a game when tragedy struck.

The Canadian Press, a wire service, quoted Singh as saying: “I’m just sorry for everything. Tough time for everybody.” The Calgary-based trucking outfit was formed last year and the driver of the truck, who has not been identified, had been employed with the company for about a month prior to the accident. Alberta Transportation has suspended the safety licence of the company and ordered its trucks off the roads, though that is standard procedure in such instances and investigators have yet to pinpoint the cause of the accident.

Singh told reporters in Calgary that the driver was 30-years-old and while not injured in the collision, was suffering from mental trauma.