Indo-Canadian businessman owned truck that killed hockey squad, says sorry

The truck involved in the accident that resulted in the death of 16 players and personnel of Humboldt Broncos, a junior ice hockey squad in Canada, was owned and operated by an Indo-Canadian entrepreneur from Calgary in the province of Alberta.

The owner, identified in Canadian media reports as Sukhmander Singh, has expressed anguish over the collision on April 6 and said he was “sorry for everything”.

That tragedy has shaken Canada, even as it claimed the 16th victim on Wednesday: Dayna Brons, an athletic therapist and the lone woman in the team bus.

The accident occurred on a highway as the semi-truck operated by Singh’s Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd collided with the bus, causing multiple fatalities and leading to national mourning, with the memorial service being attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The team from the small town of Humboldt in Saskatchewan province was on its way to a game when tragedy struck.

The Canadian Press, a wire service, quoted Singh as saying: “I'm just sorry for everything. Tough time for everybody.”

The Calgary-based trucking outfit was formed last year and the driver, who has not been identified, had been employed with the company for about a month before the accident.

Alberta Transportation has suspended the company’s safety licence and ordered its trucks off the roads, though that is standard procedure in such instances and investigators have yet to pinpoint the cause of the accident.

Singh told reporters in Calgary that the driver was 30 years old and, while not injured in the collision, was suffering from mental trauma. According to CBC, he said, “The guy is in counselling…not sleeping well, not eating well.” Singh was “really upset” over the accident, and told reporters, “It changed my whole life, this incident.”