Truck driver in fatal Canada hockey bus crash pleads guilty

AFP  |  Ottawa 

The of a truck involved in a fatal crash with a bus carrying a Canadian junior team on Tuesday pleaded guilty to 29 counts of causing death or bodily harm.

He faces up to 14 years in prison over the incident, which left 16 people dead, 10 of them players aged 16 to 21.

The other six people killed were coaches, journalists and the bus Thirteen people were injured.

The devastating accident shocked and the world.

League teams at home and in the helped raise money for the survivors and victims' relatives, and observed moments of silence before regular season games in tribute to those killed.

Outside the courthouse, Sidhu's read a statement to reporters saying his client was devastated by the tragedy and did not wish to "make things any worse" by putting victims' families and the community through a trial.

"He's overwhelmed by the expressions of sympathy and kindness that some of the families and players have expressed to him, in spite of the fact that their grief is entirely his fault," Brayford said, cited by Canada's public broadcaster.

The Humboldt Broncos tour bus was travelling to a playoff game in a rural part of province on April 6, 2018 when it collided with Sidhu's truck at a highway intersection.

said the semi-trailer, loaded with heavy bundles of peat moss, was exceeding the speed limit and failed to stop at the intersection.

The force of the collision ripped open the bus.

Sidhu was the only person involved in the crash to escape or death.

The owner of the trucking company that hired him still faces eight charges for failing to comply with safety regulations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, January 09 2019. 00:30 IST