Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, accused of 29 counts of dangerous driving after a semi-truck collided with the Humboldt Broncos team bus on April 6, was released on bail Tuesday.
Sixteen people died in the crash, including players and staff members of the Saskatchewan junior hockey team. Another 13 people were injured.
FULL COVERAGE: Humboldt Broncos tragedy
Sidhu, 29, was remanded into custody exactly three months later, on July 6.
RCMP said he was arrested at his Calgary home at 10:07 a.m. local time without incident. He appeared in court in Melfort, Sask. Tuesday.
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Sidhu was released on $1,000 bail with a number of conditions. He must stay at his Calgary home and follow a curfew. He is also under a driving ban and had to surrender his passport.
Neighbours told Global News Sidhu lives in the basement suite at the home located in the community of Saddle Ridge.
He’ll be back in court on Aug. 21.
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Details on charges
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He is facing 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, and another 13 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily injury.
There was “evidence that motor vehicle was being operated in a way that was dangerous to the public,” Superintendent Derek Williams, the officer in charge of the major crimes unit, said last week.
“There’s a number of elements that make up the offence of dangerous driving. Including the marked departure from the standard of care expected from a driver, in this case a commercial truck driver,” he explained.
Williams said the charge of dangerous driving causing death could be met with up to 14 years in prison, and up to 10 years for dangerous driving causing injury.
What do we know about Sidhu?
There’s not much yet known about Sidhu, other than he was driving for Adesh Deol trucking company at the time of the crash.
RCMP briefly detained him directly after the crash, but released him soon after. He was uninjured in the crash.
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The director of the trucking company, Sukmander Singh, said in April that the driver had started working for him about a month before the crash.
Singh told Global News at the time that the driver had obtained his license about a year ago and had been on the road for two weeks, after undergoing two weeks of training.
Singh also said the driver had been going to counselling services after the crash, but didn’t give the driver’s name.
Sindu and Singh were the only two people working for Adesh Deol, and the company has since been suspended pending an investigation.
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As of yet, no charges have been laid against the trucking company.
RCMP said they researched every aspect of the crash including speed and position of the vehicles, road and weather conditions, point of impact and witness interviews.
They also said they investigated the possibility of impairment, but no impairment charges were laid.
The fatal crash rocked the hockey community in Canada and worldwide; a fundraiser for the team raised millions of dollars in just days. The families and the victims are expected to receive payouts soon from the fund to help cover travel and other costs.
The surviving members of the Humboldt Broncos have also been honoured by the NHL as they recover. Head coach Darcy Haugan was also posthumously awarded the Community Hero award at the NHL awards last month.
*with files from Dave Giles and Andrew Russell
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