Friday morning the driver of the truck that ran thru the stop sign in Saskatchewan and into a bus load of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his mistake. And what we all know is that it was a mistake and we have to respect the 30 year old for owning up to what he had done. We also know that he needed to pay for the 16 lives he took.
8 years doesn’t mean 8 years behind bars. Mr. Sidhu will be out as early as 2.6 years on good behaviour and his statutory release is in 5.3 years. After that he will be deputed back to India because he is a permanent resident of Canada but not a full citizen. He will also have to live the rest of his wife knowing what he did.
Could you?
It was learned during his trial that Mr. Sidhu – an inexperienced Truck driver – missed 4, ‘Highway Related Signs’ before blowing thru the stop sign and being T-boned by the Broncos bus. Some believe he missed those signs simply because of one reason – He didn’t understand what the signs said. In all probability Mr Sidhu was trained in his native language and wrote his test in his native language. Signs in this country aren’t written in his native language.
Is the reason he missed those signs because he couldn’t read them?
Mr Sidhu knows he must pay for his crimes. The families of those lost will never forget but hopefully will forgive Mr Sidhu one day if they haven’t already.
Very sad for everyone involved.