Indo-Canadian held for crash that left 16 dead

Ottawa, July 8

A 29-year-old Indian-origin truck driver in Canada has been arrested in connection with a bus crash that killed 16 people, mostly members of a junior hockey team, one of the worst disasters in the country’s sporting community. The driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, was arrested at his home in Calgary city on Friday and remanded into custody, the CBC reported, quoting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the national police force of the country.

Sidhu is facing 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and 13 counts of dangerous operation of motor vehicle causing bodily injury, the CBC reported.

He is set to appear in a court in Saskatchewan province next week, but no date has been set. Dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in Canada. Sidhu’s lawyer declined to comment on his client. Sixteen people, including 10 players, were killed and 13 injured when the Humboldt Broncos hockey team was on its way to a playoff game at the time of the collision with the tractor-trailer on April 6. Sidhu was not injured, but he did receive trauma counselling in the aftermath.

Support staff and the team’s head and assistant coaches were also among the causalities. A number of players who survived the crash are still recovering from significant injuries. Police have not disclosed the findings of their investigation into how the crash happened. — PTI