Humboldt Broncos bus crash
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Broncos_bus_crash?Not to be confused with Swift Current Broncos bus crash.
On April 6, 2018, 16 people were killed and 13 were injured when a northbound coach bus struck a westbound semi-trailer truck that blew through a stop sign near Armley, Saskatchewan, Canada. The driver of the truck had failed to yield at a flashing stop sign at the intersection of Saskatchewan Highways 35 and 335 while driving at a speed of approximately 100 km/h (62 mph). Most of the deceased and injured were players from the Humboldt Broncos, a junior ice hockey team from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, which plays in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).
On July 6, 2018, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) charged 29-year-old Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the driver of the truck, with sixteen counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and thirteen counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily injury. In early 2019, Sidhu pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Sidhu, an immigrant from India, plans to appeal deportation from Canada if he is granted parole.
The crash prompted condolences from public figures and celebrities, along with vigils and tributes such as people leaving hockey sticks outside their doors. A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign set a national record by raising more than CA$15,000,000. The crash was the deadliest road accident in Canada since the 1997 Les Éboulements bus accident, which killed 44 people.[8]
Background
[edit]The signal lights were installed after a fatal traffic collision at the same intersection in 1997, in which six members of a family from British Columbia were killed.[9][12] Six memorial crosses in the intersection's southeast corner commemorate those deaths.[13] The coroner's report on the 1997 accident suggested "additional warning device approaching Highway 35 from the west, which could include rumble strips," but this was not implemented since the last crash had occurred in 1988.[14]
From 2011 to 2015, Saskatchewan had 13.2 traffic deaths per 100,000 people, the highest rate of any province or territory in Canada and over double the national average.[15]
Crash
[edit]Weather on the day of the crash had been clear and sunny, and nothing obscured Sidhu's view of the stop sign, according to the agreed statement of facts. The sun was not in Sidhu's eyes, the road was not affected by any inclement weather and the intersection was clearly visible before the collision. Sidhu also passed signs indicating that an intersection with a stop sign was ahead.
Sidhu was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was not distracted by a cellphone. Instead, he stated that he had been distracted by a tarp that had come loose. Glen Doerksen, the Broncos' bus driver, applied his brakes 24 metres before the intersection, but was unable to avoid the collision. The bus struck the truck's front trailer in a T-bone collision. The bus sustained massive damage, particularly at the front. The driver and 13 passengers were killed immediately. Two others died of their injuries in hospital.[16]
One of the survivors described how the bus broadsided the semi-trailer truck, which was consistent with the photographic account of the incident.[17] A father of one of the victims stated that they "pulled up and saw the front of the bus was gone", and that the normal seating plan on the bus would have been rookies in the front, veterans in the back.[18] Survivor Kaleb Dahlgren recounted later that the bus had the 18-year-olds up front, 19-year-olds in the middle, and the 20-year-olds in the back.[19] The force of the impact caused both vehicles to come to rest off the highway in the northwest corner, lying on their sides.[12]
As part of the emergency response to the crash, Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) dispatched three helicopters to assist with transporting victims. Several of the injured were taken to the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, about 250 km (160 mi) southwest of the crash.[20][21] The truck driver was not injured in the crash. Photos show the semi-trailer's load of peat moss was strewn over the ground.[22] Police detained and later released the truck driver.[20][23] The RCMP stated that the driver was being provided with mental health and wellness assistance.[20] The owner of the trucking company later confirmed that the truck driver was receiving psychological support since his release.[24]
The team chaplain Sean Brandow arrived at the scene of the crash shortly after the collision and attempted to offer prayers and aid. Officers directed families of the team towards the Nipawin Apostolic Church, where family and friends gathered to wait. One father recounted: "You're at the church and most of the families are there. All the veterans' parents start getting phone calls, we got your boy, come to the hospital. You get a little deeper and at the end of the night it's mostly the rookies parents there ... And then of course the police had the conversation with us."[18]
First responders
[edit]Doug Lapchuk, president of the Saskatchewan Volunteer Firefighters Association, said his organization has sent peer counsellors to help members of the Nipawin and Tisdale fire departments who were involved in removing victims from the crash. A Tisdale crane operator was called to the scene of the crash to use his crane to hoist the roof of the bus to allow first responders to reach victims underneath it. He stated concern about the "poor first responders, them guys—they were the ones getting the people out of there, they were the ones making the decisions".[26]
An estimated 80 first responders were on scene of the crash, with resources from Tisdale, Nipawin, Zenon Park, Carrot River, Melfort, and other locations dispatched to provide aid.[27] An eyewitness who was waiting to turn at the intersection stated that her 911 call, placed moments after the incident, was responded to 15 minutes later by police.[28]
Victims
[edit]The RCMP stated that they would not be releasing the names of the dead until the families were notified, but the family of Broncos head coach and general manager, Darcy Haugan, confirmed on Twitter that Darcy was one of the 16 killed.[35] Team captain Logan Schatz was also confirmed dead by his father.[36] The bus driver, Glen Doerksen, and two radio-station employees, announcer Tyler Bieber and statistician Brody Hinz, died in the collision.[37] Doerksen was a former board member for the Carrot River Outback Thunder hockey team, serving from 2006 to 2011 and a driver for Charlie's Charters, a Saskatchewan bus company.[38] Four days after the crash, athletic therapist Dayna Brons, the only woman on the bus, died from head injuries sustained in the collision.[39]
On April 8, it was discovered that one of the dead, Parker Tobin, had been misidentified by the coroner as Xavier Labelle, who survived the crash.[40] This prompted an apology from the coroner.[40]
Investigation
[edit]The RCMP returned to the scene of the crash on April 19, 2018, to do additional analysis and testing with reconstructionists and officers. A police news release stated the investigators would be using vehicles similar to those involved in the collision to allow the reconstructionists to take further measurements and analyze sight lines.[43] Previously, members of the RCMP had conducted more than 50 interviews with independent witnesses, the driver of the semi-trailer truck, the trucking company's owner, victims, and other individuals. Over 5,500 photos had been taken to document the scene and analyzed, along with imaging from 3D technology and drone usage.[44]
Kelsey Fiddler, present at the intersection at the time of the crash, was identified as a key eyewitness. She stated in an interview she had to swing her vehicle away seconds before the crash to avoid being sandwiched by the two vehicles. Reportedly, she was waiting at the eastbound stop sign on Highway 335 to make the turn onto Highway 35 and saw the bus approaching in the northbound lane of Highway 35 at what seemed to her as "regular highway speed". Fiddler is also identified as one of the first callers to 9-1-1 in response to the crash.[28]
Aftermath
[edit]Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, April 8, 2018
The Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League expressed their condolences to the Humboldt Broncos organization, players and families.[52] A group of survivors from the Swift Current Broncos bus crash in 1986, led by Sheldon Kennedy, headed to Humboldt to offer their support to the community and hockey team.[53]
The SJHL indefinitely suspended its playoffs immediately following the crash.[54] The league's board of governors, which is composed of representatives from each member club, unanimously decided on April 11 to allow the two remaining teams in the play-offs (the Nipawin Hawks and Estevan Bruins) to play for the league championship.[55] The Manitoba Junior Hockey League, the SJHL's counterpart in the neighbouring province of Manitoba, delayed its championship series by four days out of respect for the SJHL and the Broncos.[56] The playoff champions of the two leagues later played for the ANAVET Cup regional junior championship as planned.[56]
Humboldt schools reopened, though classes were not expected to be in session, on April 10, 2018, with crisis workers present.[57] It was also released that the truck was from a Calgary-based company, Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd, which had been operating for only one year.[24] Adesh Deol's safety certificate was automatically suspended due to the severity of the incident while the company was investigated by the Alberta Transportation ministry.[24] A letter posted on Reddit and linked on Facebook, offering support and sympathy to the unidentified driver of the semi-trailer, has been widely shared.[58]
One of the survivors, Ryan Straschnitzki, paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the accident, has told his parents he wants to continue playing sledge hockey and compete in the Paralympic Games.[59] Similarly, Jacob Wassermann, another survivor who was paralyzed from the waist down, took up Pararowing in 2022 and made his debut with Team Canada in the single scull competition at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[60]
Saskatchewan Government Insurance announced on April 13, 2018, plans to improve training standards for truck drivers by 2019; at that time, no training was required to be done by certified schools.[61]
Blood donations increased by as much as 25% in some cities in Western Canada after the crash.[62] After the news of Logan Boulet's organ donation, 3,071 Albertans registered as organ donors in a single weekend, compared to the province's weekly average of 425.[63] It was announced later by The Kidney Foundation of Canada that in the weeks following the crash, almost 150,000 Canadians registered as organ and tissue donation due to Boulet.[64]
Vigils and tributes
[edit]League tributes
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On April 7, a moment of silence was observed before the NCAA college hockey championship in Minnesota.[69] Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, had a special Penguins jersey with the words "BRONCOS 18", made and signed by the whole Penguins team, sent to the Broncos.[70] The April 7 broadcast of Coach's Corner on Hockey Night in Canada focused on the incident, with Don Cherry describing it as a "national nightmare".[71] The episode was devoted to discussing the 29 coaches, players, trainers, and media associated with the team that were on the bus, and also commented about the December 1986 Swift Current Broncos bus crash.[71]
After eliminating the Minnesota Wild on April 20, 2018, during the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Jets displayed survivor Matthieu Gomercic, a forward for the Humboldt Broncos, on the jumbotron of Bell MTS Place, drawing a raucous standing ovation from the crowd.[72] As the first round of the playoffs progressed, the Stanley Cup was also brought to the hospital where the injured players were to improve their spirits.[73] Two months later, after the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup, Chandler Stephenson, who knew some of the people on the Broncos team, stated his intent to spend his day with the Stanley Cup in Humboldt,[74] which he did in late August.[75]
On June 20, 2018, 10 survivors of the crash were honoured at the 2018 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.[76] Their late head coach Darcy Haugan won the inaugural Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award which is given to a person who has positively impacted their community, culture, or society through the game of hockey.[77] Two days later at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Broncos were awarded the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence.[78]
Green Shirt Day
[edit]The event encourages people to participate by wearing green, registering as an organ donor, and telling family and friends about their organ donation wishes. Green is the official colour of organ and tissue donation, symbolizing hope for patients in need. The event is also known as the "Logan Boulet Effect" and inspire Canadians to talk to their families and register as organ donors. [80]
The event also promotes conversations about organ donation within families and communities. It is believed that for every person who registers their intent to donate, they speak with an average of four others about organ donation. This means that 100,000 new registrants equals approximately 400,000 conversations.[81]
Government figures and others
[edit]On April 12, 2018, people across Canada were encouraged to wear sports sweaters and jerseys, to remember the victims in a movement known as #JerseysForHumboldt.[83][84] Many Canadians and others around the world did so and Toronto Mayor John Tory proclaimed April 12 to be Jersey Day, in honour of those killed in the crash.[85] On April 14, during game one of the series between the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards in the 2018 NBA playoffs, Canadian rapper Drake wore a Humboldt Broncos sweater, which he had the Raptors team sign after the game.[86][87] Canadian professional golfer Brooke Henderson dedicated her win at the LPGA's Lotte Championship to the Broncos.[88] A week after the crash, one of the teams taking part in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) championship made a stop to the scene of the crash to pay their respects, with players and coaches stating they felt stopping at the site was an important step in the grieving process.[89]
Governor General of Canada Julie Payette visited Humboldt on October 18, 2018, where she met with the Mayor and the community, toured the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Exhibit, and watched the Broncos play the Melville Millionaires in a SJHL home game.[90]
Homegrown
[edit]The crash location has been turned into a memorial, with Canadians from all across the country leaving flowers, candles, stuffed bears, stickers, coffee cups, wreaths, and hockey sticks.[25] On April 14, 2018, Nipawin resident Rocky Salisbury placed 16 crosses at the crash site to memorialize the dead.[96]
Four days after the Humboldt Broncos crash, musician Tom Cochrane appeared on Canadian sports network TSN to perform an acoustic version of his song "Big League" before hockey coverage began.[97][98] He updated the lyrics to imply the players were "riding to immortality" and placed an emphasis on the unpredictability of life. Eight days later, he released a studio recording of the reworked version as a charity single, with sales proceeds directed to the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation.[99]
At least two tattoo tributes were carried out by those connected to the crash. Two siblings and two friends of survivor Morgan Gobeil had his heartbeat measured at the hospital, tattooed onto their arms at Rites of Passage Tattoo, who also said fans were making bookings for tribute tattoos, such as of jerseys and team numbers.[100] Mark Antonichuk, a passer-by from Moose Jaw who was one of the first on the scene, had the team's logo tattooed onto his back under the words "With You on the Scene" and above the words "With You Forever".[101]
On April 27, 2018, a Country Thunder Humboldt Broncos tribute concert was planned. It was held in Saskatoon, and some NHL players attended.[102][103] Clint Jackson, an artist associated with the Olds Mavericks, created an artwork to commemorate the victims; the piece is a set of wings encasing two hockey sticks, with the faces of the dead airbrushed in the interior. At least one survivor, Graysen Cameron, a previous Olds player, has signed the piece, and it was delivered to Humboldt by the artist.[104]
Crowdfunding and aid
[edit]GoFundMe
[edit]Under the newly formed Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc., the funds will be disbursed through a committee that will work with the team and establish how the funds will be disbursed. After the campaign ends, the GoFundMe page will stay live to allow the team to continue to update the public on the progress of allocating the funds.[111] At least one family of a survivor has commented on how the money should be split between the victims. The father of Ryan Straschnitzki has suggested that it be divided evenly to all 29 victims.[112]
On May 17, the committee announced that it would begin the process of distributing the funds raised through the GoFundMe campaign. Under Saskatchewan law, money raised through a public appeal must follow regulations that include appointing a supervising judge, submitting a proposed court order for fund allocation, and recommending a timeline for the distribution.[113] In November 2018, the committee recommended that funds were distributed almost equally among survivors and the families of the deceased. The final recommendation was for families of the deceased to receive $50,000 more than the survivors. Including $50,000 preliminary disbursements, the families of the deceased received a total of $525,000, while each survivor received $475,000.[114] While some statements supporting an even distribution of funds were made, the committee decided against that, due to "a huge difference in emotional circumstances between most of the families who lost a loved one and most of the families who did not."[114]
Other fundraisers
[edit]The Canalta Hotel offered free rooms to family members travelling to Saskatchewan after the crash and provided food and support.[116] Restaurants handed out free food, and servers from other restaurants in the chain of Boston Pizza came to cover the shifts of workers in Humboldt who had been friends with team members.[117] Other groups such as STARS Air Ambulance and Ronald McDonald House, were credited by family members of those injured for providing support after the accident and during family members' recovery.[118]
Wounded Warriors Canada have offered support for the first responders involved with the crash. An online fundraising campaign started by Wounded Warriors Canada and TEMA Conter Memorial Trust raised over $110,000 for Humboldt's first responders.[further explanation needed][119] Tim Hortons, a Canadian fast-food company, raised $800,000 selling yellow-and-green sprinkle doughnuts, the proceeds of which were donated to the Humboldt Broncos.[120]
Toledo Walleye players and coaches raised $6,040 through a jersey auction during their April 13, 2018, game and then raised the donation total to $10,000 through the teams Walleye Wishing Well charity fund.[121] Family members and friends of those injured and killed have also created their own fundraisers, such as a four-on-four hockey tournament, memorial funds for scholarship use, and medical funds.[118]
The Atlanta Gladiators organization raised $4,200 through an auction of a stick signed by the team and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, a game-worn Davis Vandane jersey, and a matching donation from the Gladiators for Kids foundation.[122][non-primary source needed][123][non-primary source needed]
Scams
[edit]Legal proceedings
[edit]Criminal
[edit]In October 2018, Sukhmander Singh, the owner of the involved trucking company Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd., was charged with violating federal and provincial safety regulations. These included two counts of failure to require a daily log, two counts of keeping multiple daily logs for a single day, three counts of failure to monitor the driver's compliance with the relevant regulation, and one count of failure to have or follow a written safety program. A court date was set for November 9.[130] In March 2019, Singh pleaded guilty to five counts, with the logs and safety program charges having been dropped, and was fined $5,000.[131]
On January 8, 2019, Sidhu pleaded guilty to all counts[132] and underwent sentencing hearings in late January, hearing from 90 victim impact statements. A forensic report found that he did not apply the brakes upon approaching the intersection and that his view was unobstructed, with plenty of advance warnings. On the final day of hearings, January 31, Sidhu expressed remorse and apologized. The Crown requested a 10-year prison sentence, with each count to be served concurrently, followed by a 10-year driving ban. Judge Inez Cardinal delivered her sentencing decision on March 22, 2019: concurrent sentences of 8 years.[133][134] In July 2022, Sidhu was granted day parole by the Parole Board of Canada, after a hearing with some of the families of the victims in attendance.
Immigration
[edit]Sidhu's lawyer indicated in July 2024 that, following his IRB hearing, Sidhu made an application to be able to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.[141] Sidhu's counsel also indicated that Sidhu will make an application for a pre-removal risk assessment prior to any deportation to India, and that he will request a deferral of any deportation pending a determination of his humanitarian and compassionate application.[142] Sidhu's lawyer has stated that these legal procedures "could take months or years".[139]
Civil
[edit]Russell and Raelene Herold, the parents of Adam Herold, filed a lawsuit on behalf of their late son. It names the truck driver, the trucking company, and the bus manufacturer, and asks for unspecified damages and court orders, including one that would require all buses carrying sports teams in Saskatchewan to have seat belts and other safety devices.[147]
Ryan Straschnitzki, a survivor of the bus crash, filed a $13.5 million lawsuit, seeking damages against the truck and bus drivers, the trucking company, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and several others.[148]
Depiction in media
[edit]Two television documentary films on the team's return to the ice, CBC Television's Humboldt: The New Season[150] and TSN's 2 Roads to Humboldt, received Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards, the former for Best Documentary Program and the latter for Best Sports Feature Segment.[151] An additional documentary; 29 Forever was created by The Sports Network and premiered on the first anniversary of the crash.[152]
In March 2021, one of the survivors; Kaleb Dahlgren published a memoir entitled Crossroads: My Story of Tragedy and Resilience as a Humboldt Bronco. The book memorializes the accident and the deceased victims, and also discusses his journey through his type one diabetes diagnosis and his father's medical diagnosis prior to the accident.[153][154]
Canadian documentary news program W5 aired a segment called "The Humboldt Driver" in October 2021 which detailed the crash, included an interview with Sidhu, and examined the Canadian trucking industry.[155]
In 2025, survivor Ryan Straschnitzki debuted the television documentary series We Were Broncos, profiling his perseverance in rebuilding his life and beginning to compete in adaptive wheelchair sports, on AMI-tv.[156]
Legacy
[edit]Intersection improvements
[edit]Team
[edit]The club played their first home game of the 2018–19 season on September 12 against Nipawin, which was televised nationally by TSN, and simulcast by CTV's Saskatchewan stations, as well as NHL Network in the United States.[163][164] Most of the surviving players were in attendance and following the game, the numbers of all players on the bus were formally retired by the team. For players who are still active or planned to return to the Broncos (Brayden Camrud, Derek Patter and Tyler Smith), they will retain their number while active, and they will be retired after the conclusion of their careers with the team. Despite scoring the first goal of the game, the Broncos lost the season opener by the score of 2–1.[165]
In March 2019, Logan Schatz's hometown of Allan, Saskatchewan, renamed its local arena to the Logan Schatz Memorial Arena.[166][167]
In October 2019, the Adams Park Ice Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta was renamed to Logan Boulet Arena.[168]
See also
[edit]- 2008 Bathurst Boys in Red accident, previously the worst bus accident involving a sports team in Canada
- Baylor Bears bus crash (1927), previously the worst sports team bus collision in North America
- List of deadliest Canadian traffic accidents
- List of accidents involving sports teams
- List of disasters in Canada by death toll
- List of traffic collisions (2000–present)
