What is the Humboldt Broncos tragedy? Know everything about one of the biggest tragedies in hockey history

It has been five years since a fatal bus crash tragically cut short many lives near Armley, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Humboldt Broncos tragedy shocked many in the country. It was one of the most tragic yet preventable accidents. The Humboldt Broncos of 2018 were not an NHL team, but they are remembered like no other.

What happened on the day of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy?

The coach bus transporting the team and a semi-trailer truck crashed at about 5:00 p.m. CST at the intersection of Highways 35 and 335 near Armley, according to the RCMP collision report. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, who was driving a cargo vehicle pulling two peat moss-filled trailers, was driving between 86 and 96 km/h on Highway 335.

2018 NHL Awards

On Highway 35, traveling in the northern direction, was the bus carrying 29 members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team. The bus was moving between 96 and 107 km/h. Sidhu ignored the stop sign. The sign was 1.2 meters and had post with a blinking red light above it.

Sidhu ignored all of that and blocked the intersection. The Broncos' bus slammed into the lead trailer. Both automobiles came to rest on the side of the highway in the northwest corner, laying on their sides, as a result of the powerful collision.

The bus held 29 passengers total, including the driver, according to the RCMP. Fourteen people perished on impact, while 15 people were injured (three of them critically). Two of the seriously hurt people later passed away in the hospital.

In a statement issued on April 18, 2018, assistant commissioner Curtis Zablocki, the Saskatchewan RCMP's commanding officer, declined to disclose any charges in connection with the collision. Only broad inquiries from the media about the crash were anticipated from the police.

Investigation of the Humboldt Broncos case

During the news conference, Zablocki said that the truck driver had been in continual contact with the RCMP and had been detained and released following the collision. The drivers' logbook, experience, and engine computers for both vehicles are being examined.

Justin Trudeau's statement on the fifth anniversary of the tragedy

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

The Humboldt Broncos tragedy led to many in the country giving tributes. President Justin Trudeau recently gave a statement on the fifth anniversary of the event. He said that the Broncos have shown enormous strength and resilience in the years since the tragedy, by creating scholarships and sponsorships for future generations and providing counseling services and support groups for those who survived the crash.

His statement also enumerated that this won't be repeated and made many changes to that effect. The ice hockey world will always remember them.