Sidhu, 30, pleaded guilty in January to 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in the April 6, 2018 bus crash.
MELFORT — With a judge declaring that a significant sentence was warranted, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the semi driver responsible for the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
As the sentence was read, Sidhu stood with his back turned away from the gallery. There was no overt reaction from either his supporters or from the family members of the 29 victims. During sentencing submissions, prosecutor Thomas Healey argued for a 10-year sentence followed by a 10-year driving ban. Defence lawyer Mark Brayford did not argue for a specific sentence, but rather presented case law that involved sentences between 18 months and four and a half years. Both lawyers during arguments, as well as Judge Cardinal during her sentencing, acknowledged no case law that reflects the number of deaths and charges as this one.
Sentences are fact specific, Cardinal continued. She said she accepts that Sidhu did not purposefully drive through the intersection in order to speed up his trip, but says he had “ample time to react” to the intersection — had he been paying attention. Court heard he was distracted by a flapping tarp on his trailer and missed four highway-related signs leading up to the stop sign at the intersection. Brayford said the failure to comprehend the signage is what elevated it from a traffic offence to a criminal act.
Saini was charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing death and nine counts of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm.
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