Humboldt Broncos Tragedy: What happened to the driver that caused the accident and where is he now?

The NHL took to Twitter to express their condolences and remember the Humboldt Broncos Tragedy that shook the hockey community five years ago. The tweet read:

"On the fifth anniversary of the 2017-18 Humboldt Broncos tragedy, we remember the 16 souls who perished and pay tribute to the hockey families that persevere after such devastating loss."

On April 6, 2018, the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team was involved in a tragic bus crash. It claimed the lives of 16 team members and injured 13 others. The incident occurred when the team's bus collided with a semi-truck on a rural highway in Saskatchewan, Canada. The tragedy sent shockwaves through the hockey community and left many wondering what had caused the accident and who was responsible.

Since then, there have been many questions about where Jaskirat Singh Sidhu is now and how he is doing. Sidhu, the driver of the truck, was later charged with 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

Sidhu was 29 years old at the time of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. He had only one year of experience driving trucks and two weeks of training on the vehicle he was driving. He had only been driving the vehicle on his own for two weeks when the crash occurred. In July 2018, he was arrested and charged by the RCMP.

Sidhu was released on $1,000 bail with conditions that required him to reside at his Calgary home. He was asked to follow a curfew, surrender his passport and abide by a driving ban. In January 2019, he plead guilty to all counts. He underwent sentencing hearings, where he heard 90 victim impact statements.

On the final day of the hearings, 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 sentenced him to eight years in prison on March 22, 2019.

More on Humboldt Broncos Tragedy's Driver and Court's Decision

The court has not made a decision on whether Sidhu will be deported back to India after his sentence is served. His lawyers are fighting for him to maintain his status in Canada, calling it a double punishment if he were to be deported.

In July 2022, Sidhu was granted day parole by the Parole Board of Canada after a hearing with some victims' families in attendance. The Canada Border Services Agency had previously recommended that he be handed over to the Immigration and Refugee Board to decide if he should be deported.

The owner of the involved trucking company, Sukhmander Singh, was also charged with violating federal and provincial safety regulations. He pleaded guilty to five counts and was fined $5000.