Humboldt Broncos Disaster
Will Police Consultation With The Crown Lead To Charges?
Key Actors:
- Sukhmander Singh, owner of Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd.
- Superintendent Derek Williams, head of Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit
Scenario
On a sunny afternoon in early April, the junior hockey team from Humboldt Saskatchewan was on a bus. “The Broncos”, as the team was known, were traveling to the town of Nipawin for a playoff game. They never made it to Nipawin. At the intersection of Highway 33 and Highway 35, the bus with the Humboldt Broncos collided with a truck carrying peat moss.
The Humboldt Broncos team photo
The driver of the truck whose name has not been revealed, walked away from the crash with no life threatening injuries. The Humboldt Broncos were not so lucky. 16 including the driver of the bus and most of the teenagers on the team, died. For those 13 on the bus that did survive, the crash left injuries and memories to haunt them for the rest of their lives.
The driver of the truck has been cooperating with police, and has been in continuous contact with them according to RCMP sources. The driver was offered counselling services by the RCMP upon being released from custody. The driver worked for, and his truck was owned by, Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd. This is a Calgary based trucking company that had only been operating for a year before the crash.
Adesh Deol owned an additional truck to the one that was involved in the crash, and the company’s operating license has been suspended during the investigation of the crash. Sukhmander Singh, who is the owner of Adesh Deol, has been in and out of the media regarding topics related to the crash. Mr. Singh was brought under scrutiny after a new trucking company was created, employing only the other driver employed by Adesh Deol and being listed at the same address as Adesh Deol. Mr. Singh denied any connection to this new company.
As the investigation is ongoing, it has not yet been determined who was responsible for the crash. The police have refused in the past to discuss any charges being laid in relation to the crash, though Superintendent Derek Williams recently disclosed that they are consulting the crown about possible charges. The question remains though, who would these charges be brought against?
Humboldt Broncos survivors
Statistics
The tragedy provoked responses of sympathy, condolences, and support, from notable figures such as PM Justin Trudeau, President Donald Trump, Pope Francis, Queen Elizabeth II. These sentiments were not the sole province of those in power though, there was a large outpouring of support by many Canadians and people of other nations who heard of the news. A GoFundMe page raised over 15 million for those affected by the crash, this is a national record for crowdfunding.
Bibliography
Image 1: https://www.discoverhumboldt.com/local/humboldt-broncos-donations
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/rcmp-preparing-talk-crown-charges-broncos-bus-crash/
https://fortsaskonline.com/local/19707-new-fort-rcmp-home-nears-completion
https://globalnews.ca/news/4135621/calgary-truck-company-suspended-humboldt-broncos-crash /
Piller, Thomas. “RCMP Preparing for Crown Consultation at End of Broncos Bus Crash Investigation.” Globalnews.ca, Global News, 12 June 2018, globalnews.ca/news/4269949/rcmp-crown-consultation-humboldt-broncos-bus-crash/.
Krugel, Lauren. “Truck Driver In Humboldt Broncos Bus Crash Seeing Doctor Daily: Company Owner.” HUFFPOST, 12 Apr. 2018, www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/04/12/truck-driver-humboldt-broncos-bus-crash-cause_a_23409718/?utm_hp_ref=ca-humboldt-truck-driver.
Joseph, Rebecca. “GoFundMe for Humboldt Broncos Closes with over $15M Donated.”Globalnews.ca, 18 Apr. 2018, globalnews.ca/news/4154069/gofundme-humboldt-broncos-closes/.