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The father of one of the young men killed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash says he’s expecting an emotional few days in court at the sentencing hearing for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu.
Scott Thomas’ son Evan was 18 when he was killed in a collision between a semi truck driven by Sidhu and the SJHL team’s bus.
“A lot of nervous anticipation. We know this is probably going to be the toughest week we’ve had since the week of the accident,” Thomas said Monday morning on Gormley ahead of the first day of Singh’s sentencing hearing.
Sidhu, 30, pleaded guilty earlier this month to 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, stemming from the April 6 crash.
Thomas said he arrived in Melfort Sunday night. While he and his family are scheduled to deliver a victim impact statement Tuesday, he said he wanted to be there to support all the victims’ families throughout the proceedings.
He said he and his wife had a hard time putting together their statement in the weeks following Sidhu’s guilty plea.
“There’s a bit of a mixture of looking back but trying to look ahead, too, and let the court and Mr. Sidhu know what the world’s missing out on by not having (Evan) here,” the father explained.
Thomas repeated sentiments he shared after Sidhu entered his pleas, saying he couldn’t help but feel for the driver and respected his decision not to fight the charges against him.
“He’s got a debt to society to pay and whatever that number is that the judge comes up with, we’re going to be fine with that,” he said.
With a difficult week ahead, Thomas said he would draw strength from remembering the good times he had with his son.
“I’m just trying to conduct myself in a way that would make my family and my son proud. And hopefully he’s sitting up there, or standing behind me with a smile on his face rolling his eyes right now — just proud of his old man.”
Sidhu’s sentencing hearing is scheduled to run through the rest of the week at the Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort.
Lawyer explains process, says wide range of sentences possible for trucker
Saskatoon-based defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle, who doesn’t represent anyone involved in Sidhu’s case, said sentencing hearings usually begin with a presentation of the facts in a case, followed by either written or oral victim impact statements being submitted to the judge.
“I expect it’s going to be a pretty long week for everybody, particularly families of the victims here that are waiting to be heard by the court,” he said, noting there could be hundreds of victims delivering statements.
Pfefferle said while the number of dead and injured in Sidhu’s case is likely unprecedented in Saskatchewan, the factors considered by judges in dangerous driving cases are fairly consistent.
“You sort of add up all the different things that the person was alleged to be doing that they shouldn’t be, and obviously the more traffic laws that a person breaks, the more the judge would consider that aggravating,” he explained.
Pfefferle said Sidhu’s guilty plea and the fact alcohol, drugs or excessive speed appeared not to be factors in the crash would likely weigh in his favour.
Overall, he said there was a wide range of potential sentences.
“We’re starting probably as low as 18 months and the top end of the range could be double-digits, although with a guilty plea it’s hard to say.”