Humboldt Broncos tragedy.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by CGY12

He wasn't on his phone, he wasn't drinking, he didn't run the stop sign intentionally. Like another poster mentioned, what good does it do to put the guy in jail? To really deter this these type of circumstances I think you have to throw the book at the trucking company, maybe then companies who cut corners just to get people on the road and money in their pockets will stop neglecting the amount of training that goes into properly understanding all facets of being able to operate this vehicle safely (both mental and physical). Maybe then they will think twice about a persons work load before putting them on the road.

Throw the book at the company, work with this young man on educating others on the responsibilities and safety of driving a truck.

Not saying all companies operate like this but this one clearly did.

Just my 2 cents anyway.

It's pretty hard to be sure if he ran the stop sign intentionally or not, but reports have said that there are numerous signs warning stop sign ahead. What was he thinking leading up to the actual stop sign?


So you're saying they should let he off with a stern warning not to do that again, since there is no point sending him to jail?


Yes, most definitely throw the book at the company.

[Calgary4LIfe]

This is a really difficult situation from every angle you can possibly think of.


The families involved will of course find some small comfort in closure - at least some of them. To many of them at least, he was a negligent monster that took their loved one away, and irreparably destroyed their world.


From society's point of view, sending him to prison doesn't really serve a purpose. Is he a danger to society? Does he need rehabilitation that can come from a long prison sentence? I can't imagine how I would feel if I was the driver. One thing that I am positive about is that I would need hundreds of hours of therapy with trained professionals, and even then I don't think I could ever be the same again. I may come out alive from such an incident, but it would be a shell of the person before the incident. I really don't know how I would be able to live with myself, and every day I would see flashes of the accident, see the pictures of everyone I hurt in my head, and I would be unable to stop reliving that constant torment until the day I died.



Every single day, probably in this city alone, there are hundreds if not thousands of incidents of bad judgement on the roads that could easily result in multiple deaths and tragedies. Most of them - luckily - don't cause a thing. I have seen many negligent truckers and bus drivers who have been lucky on these roads too.



I just feel bad for every single person affected by this tragedy. The victims on the bus - the ones that died, as well as every survivor who will never again be the same. I feel sorry for the driver who made a terrible mistake. I feel bad for all the families and friends who knew anyone involved in this accident. I feel terrible for everyone that was a part of the first responders, or of passers by that tried to help, or even just watched helplessly. Every single person that had any connection to that accident. I also feel sorry for the family and friends of the driver. A person they loved that made a mistake, but to them, nothing close to the monster that probably many people think of him as.



So many precious lives cut way too short. So many lives so adversely and tragically altered. Yet, for me at least, I see no monster in this. That's the tragedy of many tragedies that occur on the roads and highways. No real monster, just an awful outcome.



Nobody that was involved in this incident will ever be the same again. I just hope that this incident at least reminds everyone how a split second of carelessness - one single poor decision - can have incredibly tragic consequences that can never be made up for. Every single one of us needs to remind ourselves of this from time to time.

[N-E-B]

He needs to be sent to prison for a bit of time. He’s not a bad person and I wouldn’t call him a criminal or a monster, but actions have consequences.

Sentence him to 10 years, he’ll likely only serve 5ish years and be released. Keep him on probation for the last 5. Something like that. That way the victims get a long sentencing and this guy doesn’t have to spend his entire life in prison.

The only thing I know for sure is that I wouldn’t want to be the judge. No matter what, nobody will be satisfied.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

He needs to be sent to prison for a bit of time. He’s not a bad person and I wouldn’t call him a criminal or a monster, but actions have consequences.

His time spent in jail might seem rough but I think his biggest punishment will be deportation afterwards

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

I guess the question should be: where does he belongs if not the prison? He isn't mentally insane, so he doesn't belongs in a institution. This is an honest question. People find empathy for the driver, it's their prerogative, I guess I don't have much empathy for the driver because so many families been destroy, my heart is overtaken by their grieves, it has no room for empathy for the driver.

Frankly in the community - performing community service of some sort. Find causes that means something to the people who died and have him perform community service for X number of hours each week for a specified period of time. He obviously is someone who has done something awful, but it wasn't something born out of intent or hatred, it was a crap driver who wasn't paying enough attention to the road. He wasn't drunk, high, or texting, he wasn't paying enough attention to the road - which having driven down Saskatchewan roads - can occur very easily.

Empathy isn't a finite resource by the way, you can't run out of it. You just choose not to care about the driver.

[TheOnlyBilko]

Originally Posted by flamesforcup

Yea ill blame the company for that.

The "company"? The company is him and his relative, that's it.

[TheOnlyBilko]

Originally Posted by Mattman

Just sad honestly. He doesn't belong in a prison.

And the greyhound bus murderer (albeit was mentally insane) was let out to roam freely after just 9 years short from the date of the murder.

I don't understand the Justice system sometimes.

He doesn't belong in prison??? I can't believe I read this.... wow just wow

[TheOnlyBilko]

Originally Posted by Ped

I was leaning toward thinking that prison might not be the right place for him. As others have said, he made a mistake, but it's a mistake that countless people make all the time; most of the time, results are okay, and then something tragic happens.


But then I read the victim impact statements, particularly that from the Josephs, and I've rethought it. Yes, he made a mistake, but whether he deliberately blew the sign or just missed it (although I donn't understand how), he is a professionally trained driver that should know better.


Yes, even professionals make mistakes. But whatever he did resulted in the lives of 13 people, and the the families of the 16 that died, forever being altered, and not in a good way. He will undoubtedly be tortured by that for the rest of his life, and he does seem genuinely remorseful.


But still his actions resulted in tragic death and injury. No malice on his part, but there's not necessarily any malice in a slightly impaired person who thinks they are okay to drive and kills someone, and we expect that person to be punished. Obviously driving impaired is more a serious infraction, than blowing a stop sign, but the results can be the same.



He is already punished, and will be for the rest of his life. But that doesn't mean that legally he shouldn't be.

Driving extremely tired because you've been driving over the 14 hours a day for many days and not taking mandatory days off for rest can be MUCH WORSE then driving slightly impaired. Had someone done this with booze in their system they would "be the devil", "throw the book at them" etc etc this guy is driving when he shouldn't be, because he's been driving who knows how many hours in the past week, his brain and reflexes ar working at a snails pace but "its human error" & "he doesn't deserve prison" etc etc etc ummm yes he does he took on the responsibility of a job driving a huge truck that can Obviously kill a lot of people and in 1 month had SEVENTY VIOLATIONS!!!! 70!!!! They are asking for 10 years. So if he gets the 10 years he'll be out in 5 maybe even 4.

Sure he plead guilty and takes responsibility but this was also a choice of his for HIS best interests as well. You don't think him and his lawyer didn't talk about this and say "it will make you look good", "judges like defendants taking responsibility" etc etc etc he's also saying the "right things" in hopes he gets a lighter sentence, don't kid yurself that he isn't.

[TheOnlyBilko]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

His time spent in jail might seem rough but I think his biggest punishment will be deportation afterwards

I imagine he will want to go home as soon as hes out of jail. Why would he want to stay here now? Why would deportation of him going back to India, his home country, be his biggest punishment? I have countless Indian friends, they love their country. I have more Indian friends then White friends due to the area of the city I live in and my place of employment. Infact my two best friends, that I hang out with outside of work, that Come to my house almost every weekend are Indian. Infact one of my best friends who has been in Canada 7 years is contemplating moving back to India because "Canada is not what he thought it would be and its not what he had heard it would be like here" Almost all of my Indian friends go home to India every year. Many go home for 1, 2 or 3 months at a time, every single year. I'm just confused why deportation would be his greatest punishment??

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

Sure he plead guilty and takes responsibility but this was also a choice of his for HIS best interests as well. You don't think him and his lawyer didn't talk about this and say "it will make you look good", "judges like defendants taking responsibility" etc etc etc he's also saying the "right things" in hopes he gets a lighter sentence, don't kid yurself that he isn't.

His lawyer actually stated the exact opposite was the case.

[Calgary_81]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

It's pretty hard to be sure if he ran the stop sign intentionally or not, but reports have said that there are numerous signs warning stop sign ahead. What was he thinking leading up to the actual stop sign?[B][

Article has come out stating the truck driver was distracted on a tarp that has come loose on his trailer.

"On Thursday court heard, for the first time, that Sidhu did not register the four highway-related signs leading up to an oversized stop sign because he was overly focused on a flapping tarp that became loose on one of his trailers."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thestar...sh-hearing/amp

[speede5]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

......Obviously kill a lot of people and in 1 month had SEVENTY VIOLATIONS!!!! 70!!!! ......

There isn't a logbook out there that would pass scrutiny without some violations. 70 is probably but I think that is being presented in a fairly sensationalist way. I have good friends who own/operate, play by the rules, and still dread the highway patrol.

This is an industry that for years has had operators running with two logbooks. Drivers were pretty upset recently when electronic logbooks started gaining momentum.

My opinion is he will get some time, 4-6 yrs maybe, partly to send a message to the industry and partly for his part in the tragedy. Unfortunately I don't think a federal pen is the right place for him but anything over 2 years puts him there.

I feel terribly for the families who can't find compassion in their hearts. They need to move forward for their own well being. Holding on to angry thoughts towards this guy will only hurt them in the long run. Forgiveness is hard but it frees you more than anything. They are the ones who need help right now, I think the driver will do fine as he is accepting his fate and responsibilities.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Intersection of 13 and 21 near Camrose, where several major accidents occurred, even though there was traffic lights, and now is a traffic circle
https://goo.gl/maps/EWJJnd99GTx

Edmonton, Three Hills, Wetaskiwin, Camrose. When all directions lead to suck.

Good to have a traffic circle there though. That intersection was always terrible, even with traffic lights and giant flashing signs.

[spuzzum]

There is no degree of sentencing that will bring back those that are lost. Each and everyone one of us have made driving mistakes, and most of us are fortunate enough not to caused an accident. Heck, even the driverless Google car had an accident.

For comments regarding fatigue, can anyone here really say they haven't been tired driving...

-A long day at work
-Being a DD for friends or family on a night out
-Driving home after a Flames game
-Driving south 12 hours per day on holidays

I have no idea if the driver was even tired, and no idea what a proper sentence should be to appease all. He and the families are forever haunted.

I will say 10 years is extremely excessive given there was no intent.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Edmonton, Three Hills, Wetaskiwin, Camrose. When all directions lead to suck.
Good to have a traffic circle there though. That intersection was always terrible, even with traffic lights and giant flashing signs.

Well played.

I got drilled in this intersection, by someone running a red at highway speed. Several years ago. Luck only prevented fatalities

[GullFoss]

Marco Muzzo - the drunk driving billionaire in toronto - got 10 years for killing 3 kids and their grandparent. And he was eligible for full parole after 3 years.

[GullFoss]

On a side note, once when I was riding my bike at 14 and another time when I was driving at age 25 I've ran red lights without stopping. Almost died both times. It was so scary.

In both instances I was fully sober. And in both instances I saw the red light. And my mind registered, "this light is red" before I ran through the light, but it never registered "red means stop" until I had already run through the light. Ill never be able to explain why my brain couldn't make the connection those two times, like a 4 year old can, and like I do 100s of time per day.

Knowing what happened to me is what saddens me most about this guy. It might not even be as simple as "this guy was too self-centered or arrogant to stop at a stop sign." It might have just been a temporary lapse in his fast-thinking neural sustem, which he can't be blamed for

[Flamenspiel]

10 years is fair, I also agree he will get out sooner.

The comments about ""will not bring them back..." are uncalled for and we always seem to get these when these murder cases come up in the threads. It shows a lack of education on civics, specifically law and order. It's not about bringing people back, its about law, order, and justice.

[Lubicon]

So it turns out the driver is not a Canadian citizen but rather a Permanent Resident. As such he is subject to deportation if charged with a crime that carries a maximum sentence of > 10 years and/or convicted and sentenced to > 6 months jail time. The first has already occurred and the second is likely. So it looks like he will be deported regardless.

Does that change your thoughts to what type of sentence he should receive?

Does it make sense to keep him in prison for years at our expense if we could remove him from the country (almost) immediately?

Would giving a light sentence so he could be removed sooner set a precedent for future cases?

I'm honestly not sure.

[dubc80]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

Driving extremely tired because you've been driving over the 14 hours a day for many days and not taking mandatory days off for rest can be MUCH WORSE then driving slightly impaired. Had someone done this with booze in their system they would "be the devil", "throw the book at them" etc etc this guy is driving when he shouldn't be, because he's been driving who knows how many hours in the past week, his brain and reflexes ar working at a snails pace but "its human error" & "he doesn't deserve prison" etc etc etc ummm yes he does he took on the responsibility of a job driving a huge truck that can Obviously kill a lot of people and in 1 month had SEVENTY VIOLATIONS!!!! 70!!!! They are asking for 10 years. So if he gets the 10 years he'll be out in 5 maybe even 4.

Sure he plead guilty and takes responsibility but this was also a choice of his for HIS best interests as well. You don't think him and his lawyer didn't talk about this and say "it will make you look good", "judges like defendants taking responsibility" etc etc etc he's also saying the "right things" in hopes he gets a lighter sentence, don't kid yurself that he isn't.

Just to be clear, Crown prosecutor Healey said that these violations were not considered as aggravating factors in the crash and had nothing to do with it.

Many of these 70 violations were due to him simply not writing the province name next to the town name in his log book.

It's pretty easy to get a "violation" in the trucking industry.