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

No, what I saw was the police explaining this was more than simply running a stop sign. That they investigated for quite some time to determine there was a criminal element to this enough to lay the charges. My guess only: There may not have been enough alcohol or blood to lay DUI, or he may have been texting, or using the bathroom or watching a movie....something. They aren`t going to charge with distracted driving if they can charge with dangerous driving causing death.

The definition of dangerous driving states driving in a reckless manner with total disregard for the public.

We cant really be certain until the trial.

The Crown did have the option of charging the semi driver with each and every known infraction in addition to dangerous driving causing death.

My only point was at this time we don’t know details of the Crown’s case so we can’t assume drugs, alcohol, texting, cellphoning, eating while driving or anything else caused the distraction. The semi driver having proceeded through the intersection when it was unsafe to do so are sufficient grounds for the charges to be laid. As it’s not the role of the RCMP or the prosecution to determine if the accused is guilty or innocent - that’s the role of our Justice system - imo it’s about time that charges were finally filed.
 
I don’t know if the court will agree to moving the trial outside saskatchewan as the tragedy must be well known in the whole of Canada. It was even in the press here in the U.K quite a bit when it happened.

If the dangerous driving causing death and injury charges are filed by the prosecution as an indictable offence (most likely), the accused indeed has the right to a jury trial. But in Canada, a jury trial is not something that automatically occurs. The accused often choses Trial by Judge if they believe it’s to their advantage, for whatever reason.

*******
Indictable offences
“An accused has three choices:

  • Have a judge alone hear the case in provincial court.
  • Have a judge and jury hear the case in a superior court.
  • Have a judge alone hear the case in superior court.
There may be a preliminary hearing before a trial, during which a judge examines the case to decide if there is enough evidence to proceed with the trial. If the judge decides there is not enough evidence, the case will be dismissed.

Otherwise, the judge will order a full trial.”
Civil and criminal cases - About Canada's System of Justice
 
If the dangerous driving causing death and injury charges are filed by the prosecution as an indictable offence (most likely), the accused indeed has the right to a jury trial. But in Canada, a jury trial is not something that automatically occurs. The accused often choses Trial by Judge if they believe it’s to their advantage, for whatever reason.

*******
Indictable offences
“An accused has three choices:

  • Have a judge alone hear the case in provincial court.
  • Have a judge and jury hear the case in a superior court.
  • Have a judge alone hear the case in superior court.
There may be a preliminary hearing before a trial, during which a judge examines the case to decide if there is enough evidence to proceed with the trial. If the judge decides there is not enough evidence, the case will be dismissed.

Otherwise, the judge will order a full trial.”
Civil and criminal cases - About Canada's System of Justice

Thank you for posting this information it is very helpful.
 
I have to say the bail amount is very very low.

My sons bail for a much minor offence was 400$ I know lower but again a much lower charge and no deaths or anything. Drug related.
 
I have to say the bail amount is very very low.

My sons bail for a much minor offence was 400$ I know lower but again a much lower charge and no deaths or anything. Drug related.

There is no reason for it to be anymore, bail amounts only increase or are outrageous amounts if the judge thinks you could be a threat to public safety, there is no reason to think that in this case
 
There is no reason for it to be anymore, bail amounts only increase or are outrageous amounts if the judge thinks you could be a threat to public safety, there is no reason to think that in this case

And his bail was also subject to a curfew.

I can certainly understand the pain the parents are suffering and therefore I admire their various reactions as reported by the media, extremely noble and dignified, even when living with a great tragedy.

****

“....Melfort prosecutor Thomas Healey, on behalf of the Crown, consented to Sidhu’s release on $1,000 and a number of conditions, which include that he report to a Melfort probation officer upon his release, reside at a home in Calgary, hand over his passport, not operate a motor vehicle and obey a curfew of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Following the proceedings, RCMP escorted Sidhu from the courthouse and into an unmarked SUV. Neither Sidhu nor his lawyer, Satnam Aujla, spoke to media.

Russell Herold, whose son Adam died in the crash, didn’t go to court but said he was glad Sidhu had to surrender his passport.

“At least they put some conditions on it,” he said. “The bail seems low, but I guess if you go by the law, he doesn’t have a prior record and hasn’t tried to flee so I guess this is common.

“I’d prefer he be kept in jail, but we don’t have a choice in that.”.....”
Calgary driver charged in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash to be released on bail
 
I don’t know if the court will agree to moving the trial outside saskatchewan as the tragedy must be well known in the whole of Canada. It was even in the press here in the U.K quite a bit when it happened.

Unless they move the trial to Zimbabwe, it isn’t going to make a difference. Every Canadian felt this one in a big way.
 
Saskatchewan man gets 10 years for crash that killed 3 Edmonton women

This recent Saskatchewan case is noteworthy in what to expect with regard to our lenient Canadian sentencing, far different than in the US. It is what it is - our Justice system is based on rehabilitation versus punishment.

The 27 year old driver was charged with 3 counts of criminal negligence causing death and 1 count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. (Criminal negligence is a higher charge than dangerous driving.) He had stolen the truck he was driving, fled from police who eventually gave up the chase, had no drivers licence, only a learners permit, was driving on the wrong side of the divided highway and hit another vehicle head-on, occupied by the four women. Then he fled the scene on foot but police managed to capture him.

He was sentenced to serve only 10 years, appears the sentencing for the four charges was concurrent. A string of bad decisions??? OMG

BBM

“........Allbright told the court the gravity of Stucka’s offences is high because he had moral culpability; he pointed to the fact that Stucka was sober at the time of the crash, and he was making the decision to avoid liability. He called the incident a string of bad decisions, beginning with the break and enter that led to the crash. But Allbright did take Stucka’s remorse and early guilty plea into account, saying there are signs Stucka understands the consequences of his actions and there is hope he can be rehabilitated......”
 
Saskatchewan man gets 10 years for crash that killed 3 Edmonton women

This recent Saskatchewan case is noteworthy in what to expect with regard to our lenient Canadian sentencing, far different than in the US. It is what it is - our Justice system is based on rehabilitation versus punishment.

The 27 year old driver was charged with 3 counts of criminal negligence causing death and 1 count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. (Criminal negligence is a higher charge than dangerous driving.) He had stolen the truck he was driving, fled from police who eventually gave up the chase, had no drivers licence, only a learners permit, was driving on the wrong side of the divided highway and hit another vehicle head-on, occupied by the four women. Then he fled the scene on foot but police managed to capture him.

He was sentenced to serve only 10 years, appears the sentencing for the four charges was concurrent. A string of bad decisions??? OMG

BBM

“........Allbright told the court the gravity of Stucka’s offences is high because he had moral culpability; he pointed to the fact that Stucka was sober at the time of the crash, and he was making the decision to avoid liability. He called the incident a string of bad decisions, beginning with the break and enter that led to the crash. But Allbright did take Stucka’s remorse and early guilty plea into account, saying there are signs Stucka understands the consequences of his actions and there is hope he can be rehabilitated......”

If our Canadian prison system is only about rehabilitation, does it make sense to lock Sidhu up for years or even decades? What does he need to rehabilitate from? He was at fault in a very serious car accident. Until I see evidence he did something criminal, I will hold out hope that he himself can recover from this. The guilt, anguish and civil liability is sufficient punishment as it stands now.

Also, just wanted to point out that the American prison system is a for-profit corporate entity. This likely has something to do with these extreme differences in severity of sentencing. I am good with the Canadian system, although I would like to see them come down much harder on sex crimes against children. Case in point, Graham James, the coach of the previous Bronco hockey team that had a multiple death bus accident on those same Saskatchewan highways. He was convicted of molesting his players hundreds of times for which he spent about 3 yrs in prison and subsequently moved to Greece where he continued to work with young hockey players. OK, enough off topic discussion .
 
Saskatchewan man gets 10 years for crash that killed 3 Edmonton women

This recent Saskatchewan case is noteworthy in what to expect with regard to our lenient Canadian sentencing, far different than in the US. It is what it is - our Justice system is based on rehabilitation versus punishment.

The 27 year old driver was charged with 3 counts of criminal negligence causing death and 1 count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. (Criminal negligence is a higher charge than dangerous driving.) He had stolen the truck he was driving, fled from police who eventually gave up the chase, had no drivers licence, only a learners permit, was driving on the wrong side of the divided highway and hit another vehicle head-on, occupied by the four women. Then he fled the scene on foot but police managed to capture him.

He was sentenced to serve only 10 years, appears the sentencing for the four charges was concurrent. A string of bad decisions??? OMG

BBM

“........Allbright told the court the gravity of Stucka’s offences is high because he had moral culpability; he pointed to the fact that Stucka was sober at the time of the crash, and he was making the decision to avoid liability. He called the incident a string of bad decisions, beginning with the break and enter that led to the crash. But Allbright did take Stucka’s remorse and early guilty plea into account, saying there are signs Stucka understands the consequences of his actions and there is hope he can be rehabilitated......”

I’m not in favour of this man being made an example of. I hope he gets a fair trial and if convicted a fair sentence. I am sure he is remorseful over what he has done and the court should consider this at sentencing. But there does need to be a suitable amount of jail time as a punishment to deter people from breaking the law seriously whilst driving.

If convicted I would favour some jail time and if possible I would recind his licence and upon release from prison make him undergo driver training and sit a driving test before he can drive again.
 
The length of time that it took to lay charges alone is a red flag to me, this tells me they had a hard time even pressing these charges,

Publically they say that they want to be thorough, but I have a hard time believing that,

I think they probably went through a list of 8-10 possible charges and were crossing them off as the investigation went on, because none of them could be proven,

The last remaining one on the list was "dangerous operation" which is not specific and more of a blanket charge, and they are thinking they might as well roll the dice in court and hope for a conviction,

I think their case is weak, I guess we will see,
 
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Some first responders from Humboldt Broncos bus crash get mental-health break

Paramedic Deanndra King was on a day off, getting ready for a weekend curling bonspiel, when she got the call from her boss about an accident involving a bus.

"I didn't register the magnitude of it," the first responder from Nipawin, Sask., recalled this week.

She rushed to the scene where dozens of emergency workers -- including paramedics, firefighters and police officers -- did their jobs and tried to save lives. People from nearby farms brought blankets and helped in any way they could.

Some first responders from Humboldt Broncos bus crash get mental-health break

I can’t imagine witnessing the horrific crash scene.
 
A Humboldt Broncos player injured in a deadly crash in Saskatchewan has signed with a hockey team at an Ontario post-secondary institution.

Matthieu Gomercic, a 20-year-old forward from Winnipeg, is joining the Ridgebacks at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa.

Coach Curtis Hodgins says in a news release that Gomercic has a big frame, protects pucks well and is a great addition to the team.

Former Humboldt Broncos player signs with Ontario university hockey team - Sportsnet.ca

Good luck with your new team Matthieu.
 
In wake of Humboldt tragedy, province embarks on widespread reform of 'broken' registry system

So according to the study included in the above link, the Alberta Provincial Govt knew the trucking licensing and registry system was broken back in 2016 but did nothing to fix it until this tragedy occurred? That’s absolutely infuriating, I can’t begin to imagine how stricken the Humboldt families must feel to learn of this. Although we don’t know for sure that driver inexperience and lack of training caused the Humboldt crash, I’d bet various trucking companies choose to set up shop in Alberta just because the requirements here are totally lax. This is yet another example of studies that get undertaken and paid for by the govt and then get totally ignored until the public spotlight forces action to be taken.

Furthermore I think it’s absolutely ridiculous for each province to establish different regulations given truckers are not limited to operate only within provincial borders. Rant over.

.......”Currently all provinces require commercial drivers to pass written, medical and road tests, with training encouraged but not mandatory. Ontario requires drivers to complete a 103.5-hour course in the classroom and at the wheel with a licensed school.

Steve Laskowski, president of the Ontario Trucking Association and Canadian Trucking Alliance, called for all provinces to adopt Ontario’s “gold standard” for trucking requirements known as the Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) program .

“Ontario is the only province in Canada which you have to have a minimum amount of hours training prior challenging the road test,” he said. “We want to raise the bar for highway safety.”


Only Ontario requires truck driver training, but Humboldt crash could change that
 
Ryan Straschnitzki was back on the ice Friday, for the first time since the tragic bus crash that changed his life.

Continued

"It was huge for him just to get on the ice.," he said.

"Last time he was on the ice was the day before the accident, so this was his first time [since] on there. And as soon as those blades touched the ice, I've never seen a smile that big. It was massive.

"And then he just took off."

Ryan Straschnitzki returns to the ice for 1st time since Humboldt Broncos bus crash | CBC News

I’m really glad Ryan was able to get on the ice again.
 
it is obvious from the pictures that the bus hit the truck trailer, not the cab, and the truck did not hit the bus, the bus hit the truck,

there is little to no damage to the truck cab, and zero damage to the front of the truck cab, this is why the truck driver was not injured, and the front end of the bus is destroyed,

i think the truck stopped at the stop sign, then tried to proceed through the intersection but couldn't go fast enough through to have the trailer clear the intersection on time, keep in mind it was a double trailer,

if my theory is correct then i think the bus driver deserves some of the blame for not being able to yield or stop on time,

the truck driver must have misjudged the speed of the bus, would be interesting to know how fast the bus was going

in any traffic school you are taught to always expect a stopped vehicle to pull out in front of you, that way you are always prepared
 
i think the truck stopped at the stop sign, then tried to proceed through the intersection but couldn't go fast enough through to have the trailer clear the intersection on time, keep in mind it was a double trailer,

if my theory is correct then i think the bus driver deserves some of the blame for not being able to yield or stop on time,
That sounds very plausible. Or else the bus was approaching at well over the speed limit and the truck driver underestimated its speed. In any event, I seriously doubt anybody would like to blame the dead bus driver. I even wonder whether such information would be released when there's finally a report.
 

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