Canada - Canadian hockey team fatal bus accident tragedy, 6 April 2018

[MistyWaters]

* brake failure

Honestly, I do know how to spell, usually.

 

[puppyraiser]

Reading through the victim statements that have been posted so far has been absolutely gut wrenching. I feel so badly for them and can relate to the billet family statement about how these young men become family members during their time with us and the important (and not so important) conversations we have with them during the 8-9 month hockey season. My current billet (7th) is here for a second year and is preparing for college/university after the season. Lots of life lessons going on these past two years for him.

I vividly remember my first billet studying for the SAT's (to play NCAA hockey) and the days of tears and frustration we worked through to get him confident enough to get a good score and go on to finish 4 yrs of American College. We don't have a test like that for University/College here in Canada and the SAT's are intensive OMG, especially for a young person who struggled all through his school years. Six yrs later we still keep in contact and he comes back every spring to play in my work golf tournament. He's now playing hockey in Europe.

While I don't believe the driver of the transport intended to kill innocent people on April 6th, 2018, his lack of record keeping and following industry standards (for logs) and hours even as a fairly new driver shows an indifference to the rules that is sadly all too common in trucking. It was only a matter of time IMO that he was involved in a tragic situation.

 

[MistyWaters]

Some of the written victim statements are embedded in the link below as well. It must’ve been an incredibly emotional and heart wrenching past three days for all who were present. I wonder if JS will speak.

Humboldt semi driver hears victim's mother's pain of walking down the aisle 'escorting a casket' | CBC News
“...The sentencing hearing for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu has wrapped up for the day in a Saskatchewan court after the last of the impact statements were given by friends and families of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash......

More than 90 victim impact statements were either read or presented in provincial court in Melfort, Sask., since the hearing began Monday.....

According to an agreed statement of facts, Sidhu was found solely responsible for the crash.

A forensic collision report found Sidhu's semi-trailer didn't brake at the intersection of Highway 335 and 35 before the crash, despite numerous signs with flashing lights to warn drivers.

The report said Sidhu's view of the intersection was not impeded by any environmental factors like trees near the road or sun in his eyes.

After the victim impact statements, lawyers will present their final statements to Judge Inez Cardinal. Cardinal must then decide on an appropriate sentence for the offences. It's unclear when that ruling will come.

The Crown prosecutor would not comment on what sentence he is seeking for Sidhu......”

 

[MistyWaters]

'All he had to do was stop': Crown asks for 10-year sentence for driver in Humboldt Broncos crash | CBC News

“How do you miss all those signs?" asked Healey. "How is that possible?"

The Crown submitted 23 court cases for reference, citing one judgement which said a high number of deaths should result in a harsher sentence, and that the amount of harm caused should be relevant.

"All he had to do was stop. Just stop," he said. "And we wouldn't be here today."

Healey said Sidhu's guilty plea should be a mitigating factor, and believes he is remorseful.

He also has a clean driving record and no prior criminal record.”

 

[MistyWaters]

'I have taken the most valuable things of your life': Driver in Humboldt Broncos bus crash tells hearing | CBC News
“....Defence lawyer Mark Brayford painted Sidhu as an inexperienced driver who got in over his head.

According to Brayford, Sidhu had started working for a small trucking company three weeks before the crash. He spent two weeks training with another person in the vehicle and spent the final week driving alone.

Brayford said Sidhu now knows he had too much responsibility for a novice driver, especially since he was driving a double trailer.

"[It's] a classic case of his inexperience working against him," said Brayford. "He's the first to acknowledge it's inexcusable."......

Brayford noted any sentence will likely mean Sidhu will no longer be allowed to live in Canada because of his status as a recent permanent resident.

The lawyer said prior to the crash, Sidhu had gotten lost and stopped to checked a map 50 kilometres away from the crash site.

Sidhu was also worried about tarps on the back of his load that had become loose, which he also stopped to fix.

As a result, Brayford argued, Sidhu "wasn't zoned out" or suffering from "highway hypnosis" from driving.

The lawyer said he didn't know why Sidhu didn't notice the multiple warnings before speeding through an intersection and colliding with the Broncos bus.

"There was no evidence that he chose to drive through that stop sign," he said.

"I wanted to know why this happened. I'm disappointed to tell people I can't say. He doesn't know."

After the crash, Brayford said Sidhu "didn't even know what happened," and didn't know why his semi was on its side.

"He beats himself up every day," said Brayford. "Why did I not see the signs? Why did I not stop?"....”

 

[MistyWaters]

Father of Humboldt Broncos crash victim says meeting with semi driver ‘intensely emotional’

“The semi-truck driver involved in the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash has met with one of the parents of the victims.....

After court proceedings finished for the day, Thomas met and talked with Sidhu for 15 minutes. Sidhu’s brother and uncle were present during the meeting.

“It was intensely emotional,” Thomas said. “It’s probably the most emotional experience I’ve had in my life time.”

“It was exactly the opportunity I asked for and in the end, I’m very thankful and the opportunity and the meeting that we had.”

He declined to talk about the details of what was discussed, as the hearing was ongoing, and out of respect for the other families of victims......”

 

[MistyWaters]

It appears closing arguments will conclude tomorrow (Friday) then....

Grieving Humboldt Broncos families face wait for sentencing
“The judge has said she will deliver the sentence on 22 March 2019.”

 

[gregjrichards]

Thank you for all the updates everyone they are much appreciated. I’m in the hospital so haven’t been able to closely follow the news of the case. I will be surprised if he gets the ten year sentence I don’t know what will happen.

 

[will4u]

I will be surprised if he gets the ten year sentence I don’t know what will happen.

i will be surprised if he even gets 5

its just like selling a car, they always ask for more then they think or want, then they settle for a bit less

 

[Hatfield]

Reading through the victim statements that have been posted so far has been absolutely gut wrenching. I feel so badly for them and can relate to the billet family statement about how these young men become family members during their time with us and the important (and not so important) conversations we have with them during the 8-9 month hockey season. My current billet (7th) is here for a second year and is preparing for college/university after the season. Lots of life lessons going on these past two years for him.

I vividly remember my first billet studying for the SAT's (to play NCAA hockey) and the days of tears and frustration we worked through to get him confident enough to get a good score and go on to finish 4 yrs of American College. We don't have a test like that for University/College here in Canada and the SAT's are intensive OMG, especially for a young person who struggled all through his school years. Six yrs later we still keep in contact and he comes back every spring to play in my work golf tournament. He's now playing hockey in Europe.

While I don't believe the driver of the transport intended to kill innocent people on April 6th, 2018, his lack of record keeping and following industry standards (for logs) and hours even as a fairly new driver shows an indifference to the rules that is sadly all too common in trucking. It was only a matter of time IMO that he was involved in a tragic situation.

What a nice post and thank you for helping these young folks in their critical years preparing them for "life".

I had to lookup what a "billet" is and if I have it right, it sounds like you are a sponsor person/family for some of the kids and you temporarily take care of them and give them a nice place to stay along with a lot of other assistance while they are there.

That is great to hear about the success story of the young lad who went on to finish 4 years of college and still stays in contact. It shows you how much he appreciated your help.

When I attended college the first year I had wished my high school would have done a better job of preparing me. It was like the roof caved in and it was incredibly harder than I thought it would be. My high school was a breeze and they didnt warn us or prepare us for what a college setting and curriculum would be like. The difference was night and day.

Hopefully other high schools do much better than mine did. I was very unprepared by my high school.

Thank you for doing things right for the kids you take care of. They may not always show their appreciation while they are with you but you can be sure that later on in life they will look back and realize how good of a job you did for them. Just like the young lad who keeps in contact. WELL DONE

 

[Hatfield]

Thank you for all the updates everyone they are much appreciated. I’m in the hospital so haven’t been able to closely follow the news of the case. I will be surprised if he gets the ten year sentence I don’t know what will happen.

Prayers for you to get better and heal up for us Gregjrichards.

 

[MistyWaters]

Thank you for all the updates everyone they are much appreciated. I’m in the hospital so haven’t been able to closely follow the news of the case. I will be surprised if he gets the ten year sentence I don’t know what will happen.

I do hope you’re out soon!

The possible sentencing is quite of topic of casual conversation and it’s interesting how the opinions of people amongst the general public vary, much the same as the array of emotions expressed during the reading of the victim impact statements.

Fate of truck driver in Humboldt Broncos bus crash will test sentencing system: experts
“Brown said determining a proper sentence for Sidhu will be challenging because the judge lacks comparable cases.

He also said the typical signs of bad driving are missing. That makes it tough to craft a sentence that discourages people from a specific action, such as drinking and driving.

“How do we deter other people from missing stop signs?” Brown said.

“He wasn’t distracted by his cellphone,” he said.

“He simply missed the traffic signal.”...”

 

[gregjrichards]

I do hope you’re out soon!

The possible sentencing is quite of topic of casual conversation and it’s interesting how the opinions of people amongst the general public vary, much the same as the array of emotions expressed during the reading of the victim impact statements.

Fate of truck driver in Humboldt Broncos bus crash will test sentencing system: experts
“Brown said determining a proper sentence for Sidhu will be challenging because the judge lacks comparable cases.

He also said the typical signs of bad driving are missing. That makes it tough to craft a sentence that discourages people from a specific action, such as drinking and driving.

“How do we deter other people from missing stop signs?” Brown said.

“He wasn’t distracted by his cellphone,” he said.

“He simply missed the traffic signal.”...”

Thank you for the good wishes I hope to be out very soon.

I personally think the sentence will be 5-7 years jail time. Will he serve that and then have to leave Canada?

I still don’t understand why he didn’t just stop and I think the fact he didn’t will live with him till the day he dies.

Is the truck company owner banned from running another truck company in the future? He is not fit to do so.

 

[MistyWaters]

Thank you for the good wishes I hope to be out very soon.

I personally think the sentence will be 5-7 years jail time. Will he serve that and then have to leave Canada?

I still don’t understand why he didn’t just stop and I think the fact he didn’t will live with him till the day he dies.

Is the truck company owner banned from running another truck company in the future? He is not fit to do so.

I’m curious about the impact to his residency status as well but I think he’d be required to serve his sentence first and deportation hearings would occur only after that’s completed.

I agree, I think the situation warrants a about a 5 -7 sentence for the driver but the trucking company owner should be nailed to the limit for the safety violations he faces. However best I’m able to determine, the penalty only involve fines. I’m not sure if our Cdn laws allow a ban on company ownership but that would certainly be appropriate too.

 

[loveisthemovement]

After all of the victim impact statements, will the driver have an opportunity to speak? I think so....just can't remember.

 

[MistyWaters]

After all of the victim impact statements, will the driver have an opportunity to speak? I think so....just can't remember.

Yes he took the opportunity to speak.

Sidhu tells victims of Humboldt Broncos bus crash ‘It happened because of my lack of experience’
“.....Speaking to families of the 29 people killed or injured in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu said he takes “full responsibility for what has happened.”

“It happened because of my lack of experience,” the semi driver who caused the catastrophic crash on April 6, 2018 said after sentencing arguments were made at his hearing in Melfort.

Sidhu, 30, stood in front of the wooden table where he sat for the past four days, leaning on it with balled-up fists and looking down whenever he struggled to speak.

“I can’t even imagine what you are going through, what you have been through. I’ve taken the most valuable things of your life,” he said.

“I am so, so, so, so, so sorry about this pain.”

Sidhu talked about hearing “kids crying” when he emerged from his semi, not knowing what had happened. Then he saw the bus.....”

*****
From the same link, his lawyer suggests it was the state of the tarp that had been flapping which resulted in his inattention and failure to notice the approaching stop sign:

“....On Thursday court heard, for the first time, that Sidhu did not register the four highway signs leading up to an oversized stop sign because he was overly focused on a flapping tarp that became loose on one of his trailers.

This was now a complete distraction to him,” lawyer Mark Brayford said, noting Sidhu stopped to fix the tarp about 15 minutes before reaching the intersection, concerned it was causing a hazard for other drivers....”

 

[MistyWaters]

JSS also met privately with one of the fathers who’d earlier asked to speak with him. I have great respect for this father, ST. I can’t think of the exactly the right words, just to say he exhibits the sort of strong character and integrity that’s synonymous with the sport of hockey even in this instance of horrific tragedy involving the death of his son.

Father of Humboldt Bronco player got apology in tearful meeting with truck driver
“....Scott Thomas, whose son Evan died in the April 6 crash, said both he and Jaskirat Singh Sidhu cried when the two met privately at Sidhu’s sentencing hearing this week.......

Thomas was sitting in court in Melfort, Sask., Wednesday when Sidhu’s brother tapped him on the knee and asked if Thomas would meet with their family after the hearing ended for the day.

“We went into a small room in the back,” Thomas told The Canadian Press in an interview Thursday.......

He said Sidhu asked him how he could make it right for his family.

“I said, ‘So far, you’ve done everything that’s in your power,”‘ Thomas recalled. “He pled guilty, he took away the possibility of a long, drawn-out trial. He ended the proceedings in a pretty short and quick and efficient manner and definitely saved our families a lot of grief going forward.

“In his words, he can’t do anything to make it better, but he can stop proceedings that make it worse. That’s what he did. He’s already taken steps in that direction.”.....

“If I harbour long lasting hard feelings toward anybody it’s toward the company that employed him … the trucking industry that allowed this to happen and the governments that allowed a man like him to be behind the wheel,” Thomas said.

“I have a horrible feeling there are hundreds of others who are trained just as poorly out on the road right now. He thought he was just doing his job.”......”

 

[tarabull]

Doctors snooped on Humboldt Broncos' records, privacy commissioner finds | CBC News

 

[will4u]

if this guy is going to sit in jail for 5-10 years and then just be deported, i don't really see any point in that,

why should tax payers flip the bill to feed him for 5-10 years?

just deport him now and be done with it,

in all reality, what will sitting in jail accomplish anyway?...nothing

normally jail time is set so the person responsible can think about the crime they committed, but this guy just made a one time mistake, is sitting in jail for 5-10 years going to make him a better truck driver?

 

[tarabull]

https://www.ckom.com/syn/648/490917/coroner-issues-report-on-humboldt-broncos-crash/