Jaskirat Singh Sidhu is expected to be sentenced Friday morning in Melfort. (file photo/Canadian Press)

By paNOW Staff

Humboldt Broncos

Judge to sentence driver who caused Humboldt Broncos crash today

Mar 22, 2019 | 7:03 AM

It’s been nearly one year since the fatal Humboldt Broncos crash, and today semi-truck driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu is expected to learn his fate.

Judge Inez Cardinal is set to deliver her sentencing at Melfort’s Kerry Vickar Centre this morning. The sentencing comes after a three-day hearing in January where dozens of grieving family members and friends shared emotional victim impact statements.

There was a range of sentiments. Some families forgave Sidhu and thanked him for pleading guilty to his charges, while others spoke of the anger they felt toward him.

At the end of the hearing, Sidhu stood up and apologized.

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“I take full responsibility,” he said. “I have taken the most valuable things in your life.”

The Humboldt Broncos. (file photo/Canadian Press)

Sidhu said he didn’t see the stop signs as he approached the highway intersection last April 6. His semi-truck was carrying two trailers full of peat moss when the Broncos bus collided with it. The crash killed 16 players and staff members. Thirteen others were injured, some with life-long disabilities.

A detailed RCMP forensic collision reconstruction report determined Sidhu’s speed was between 86 km/h and 96 km/h at the time of the crash.

Crown prosecutors suggested a 10-year prison sentence in the case to be followed by a 10-year driving ban.

Sidhu’s lawyers did not enter a suggestion on sentencing, but asked Cardinal to consider making all sentences concurrent as all charges stemmed from the same incident.

Lawyers in the case also spoke of the difficulties they had in making a recommendation, as there are no other similar cases in Canada. Each charge of dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.

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