Some Humboldt Broncos Families Choose Forgiveness For Jaskirat Singh Sidhu As They Tell Their Stories
MELFORT, Sask. — Sorrow and forgiveness were present in a Saskatchewan court Tuesday as more people who had their lives forever altered by the Humboldt Broncos bus crash got their chance to tell their stories.
Truck driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu is being sentenced for blowing a stop sign and causing the collision that killed 16 and injured another 13 last April.
Head coach Darcy Haugan's wife, Christina, said that while she's angry the crash took the father of her two young children, she doesn't have ill will toward Sidhu.
"I want to tell you I forgive you," she said in her victim impact statement. "I have been forgiven for things when I didn't deserve it, so I will do the same."
Haugan told Sidhu she hopes he learns more about what an incredible man her husband was.
Shauna Nordstrom, the mother of 18-year-old Logan Hunter, said she is haunted by the way her only son died in the collision.
"I continue to feel empty and keep Logan's bedroom door closed so his smell won't disappear, and while I cry, laying on his bed, I can't breathe," she said.
"I feel numb and lost ... My life is forever changed."
Paul Jefferson billeted Parker Tobin, who was 18 when he died in the crash, and 20-year-old Tyler Smith, who was injured. He said he knew almost everyone on the bus.
"I forgive Mr Sidhu for his actions that caused so much grief," Jefferson told court. "In sentencing him, I ask the court to consider that his life should not be ruined forever by his mistake."
Celeste Leicht, the mother of Jacob Leicht, said she also chose forgiveness following the death of her 19-year-old son.
What's needed more, she said, is change in the trucking industry.
"It's a mistake the trucking industry is not held to a higher standard," she said. "We must learn from our mistakes.
"I choose to fight for change."
Sidhu has pleaded guilty to 29 counts of dangerous driving.
A Saskatchewan government report submitted with the court shows Sidhu had 51 violations of federal trucking regulations on drivers' hours and 19 violations of Saskatchewan trip inspection rules in the 11 days prior to the crash. Had he been stopped for inspection, he would have been suspended for 72 hours.
The victims and their families are getting a chance to address court this week before Sidhu is sentenced.
On Monday, Scott Thomas told court that he struggled to write a victim impact statement and chose instead to write a letter to his dead son.
"Hi son. It's Dad. God we miss you," Thomas said.
"Every day your mom waits for you to come through the door looking for her to make you a pot of Kraft Dinner."
He described how his son's friends visited last year and cried while going over old photos. He spoke of how the family went to Florida for Christmas instead of Grandma's cabin because they couldn't stand to be there without Scott.
He also broke the news that the family has bought a new home and sold the one his son grew up in.
"I don't think we can stay there anymore," said Thomas. "You are everywhere."
SASKATCHEWAN GOVERNMENT REPORT LISTS MULTIPLE TRUCKING VIOLATIONS BY HUMBOLDT SEMI DRIVER SIDHU
A Saskatchewan government report says the driver of a semi-truck should not have been on the road the day he flew through a stop sign and caused a crash with the Humboldt Broncos team bus.
The report filed during the sentencing hearing for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu notes 51 violations of federal trucking regulations on drivers' hours and 19 violations of Saskatchewan trip inspection rules.
It includes the 11 days prior to the April 6, 2018, crash at a rural intersection that killed 16 people and injured 13 others.
"If Jaskirat Singh Sidhu had been stopped and inspected on April 6, 2018, prior to the incident he would have been placed under a 72-hour out-of-service declaration ... preventing him from operating a commercial vehicle," says the report.
The document is signed by two senior Saskatchewan government officials and is included in the RCMP's forensic collision reconstruction report.
It expresses concerns about the distances Singh was driving as well as the amount of time he took off to rest.
The report notes that if Singh had accurately documented his time at work on April 1 it "would have resulted in the driver being in violation of the maximum on-duty time of 14 hours for the day."
The report says questions remain about what happened the day of the crash.
"We have strong concerns regarding the timelines of Jaskirat Singh Sidhu's day on April 6, 2018, as there are unanswered questions as a result of the incomplete log on that day," it says.
"The identified mileage and distances required to travel to the locations identified in the log and known locations also cause concerns."
Sidhu had been driving for about a month before the crash occurred.
The owner of the Calgary-based trucking company, Sukhmander Singh of Adesh Deol Trucking, faces eight charges relating to non-compliance with federal and provincial safety regulations in the months before the crash.
They include seven charges under the federal Motor Vehicle Transport Act: two counts of failing to maintain logs for drivers' hours, three counts of failing to monitor the compliance of a driver under safety regulations, and two counts of having more than one daily log for any day.
