Owner of semi in Canadian junior hockey team bus crash fined $5,000

The owner of the tractor-trailer involved in the fatal crash with a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team in Saskatchewan has admitted that he did not follow provincial and federal safety rules.

Sukhmander Singh, owner of Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd., admitted that he failed to comply with the Motor Vehicle Transport Act and the Alberta Traffic Safety Act, according to CBC News and other sources.

He was originally charged with eight counts, including failing to maintain proper logbooks and failing to implement safety programs.

Sixteen people were killed and 13 injured after the Adesh Deol Trucking-owned semi driven by Jaskirat Singh Sidhu went through a stop sign at a rural highway intersection and collided with the bus.

On March 27, Singh was fined $5,000 total, $1,000 for each offense.

According to court documents, Singh was missing 27 daily logs for his own driving. In addition, the driver of the semi in the crash was missing two daily logs between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2018, while a third driver had no missing logs.

The company and truck owner pleaded guilty to civil charges under provincial and federal regulations for which fines are capped at $5,000.

Alberta Transportation suspended Adesh Deol Trucking’s license soon after the crash.

The driver of the semi in the crash was sentenced to eight years in prison on March 22 after pleading guilty in January to 29 counts of criminal charges of dangerous driving causing death or injury.

The bus crash spurred the three Canadian provinces to require mandatory entry-level training for commercial truck drivers. The training regulation came into effect in March in Alberta and Saskatchewan and is to schedule to go into effect on Sept. 1 in Manitoba.