‘JOY SPRANG OUT OF OUR GRIEF’
BUS CRASH SURVIVOR’S PARENTS REVEAL EMOTIONAL TOLL FROM MISIDENTIFICATION
For almost three days, Tanya and Paul Labelle thought their son Xavier had died.
They were planning his funeral, and had attended a vigil on the Sunday — two days after the collision between a semi and the bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos hockey team — when they received a phone call nobody expects to get: Their son had been misidentified and was miraculously alive.
Xavier Labelle was one of 13 people who survived the crash at the intersection of Highway 35 and 355, north of Tisdale, Sask., on April 6, 2018.
Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, 29, has pleaded guilty to 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
This week, court heard he ran a stop sign and caused the catastrophic crash.
Nearly three days of victim impact statements concluded on Wednesday during Sidhu’s sentencing hearing in Melfort, Sask.
In their statement, Paul and Tanya Labelle told the story of the agonizing search for their 18-year-old son.
They said they were told their son had not made it to the hospital, and that there were no survivors left on the scene.
The family travelled back to Saskatoon, where the bodies would be. The couple was shown two boys, but neither of them was Xavier.
“We were very anxious and confused as maybe Xavier was still trapped at the scene or perhaps had wandered off into the fields unnoticed.”
They showed pictures of their son to staff caring for the injured, who told them everyone had been accounted for except Xavier.
They began to believe the unidentified boy whose battered body was lying in a funeral home was their son, despite the discrepancies.
“We were slowly accepting that this might be our son and we grieved deeply over this boy. Painfully. Horrifically. Holding him. Weeping. Nose bleeding. Bawling,” Tanya said.
Meanwhile, Parker Tobin’s family was doing the same for Xavier, until they were informed of the horrible mistake.
One family’s grief was another family’s hope.
The Labelles rushed to their son’s bedside. His injuries were catastrophic: a fractured skull, traumatic brain injury, spinal fusion, punctured lung and lacerated organs. But he was alive.
“Joy sprang out of our grief in an exponential way,” said Paul. “We arrived at his bedside with kisses and very, very gentle hugs.”
But the couple said they also felt pain for the parents who thought Xavier was their son and had been comforting him and holding his hands for nearly three days.
Tobin of Stony Plain, Alta. was actually among those who had died and it was his body in the funeral home.
“We know they cared for him as a son and we are forever grateful,” said Tanya.
“We grieved with them as they came to terms with the realization that their amazing son had not survived.
“We were devastated for them and their family.”
Xavier was hospitalized for 62 days and required multiple surgeries and treatment. His parents outlined the many trips they’ve had to make to deal with their son’s ongoing medical complications.
“We continue to feel emotional about it all and still feel like we are living in chaos and turmoil,” Tanya told court.
However, she said her son has shown immense courage throughout it all.
Not only is he dealing with chronic physical pain, but also the emotional pain of losing so many of his teammates and friends, in one fell swoop.
“He truly is a man of great character, showing perseverance, determination, optimism, compassion and the will and desire to not let this define him as he moves forward,” Tanya said. “He remains mindful of those who did not survive, grieving their loss in his way, and trying to honour them.”