Kamal Ghorui
Truck driver Sukhwinder Sidhu, who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving that resulted in the death of Alexandra Paul, a former Canadian Olympic figure skater, in 2023, was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail. Sidhu has also been barred from driving for seven years.Seven cars were involved in the crash and multiple people were injured, including Paul’s 10-month-old son who suffered a broken leg. Before he was sentenced, Sidhu apologized to the victims and said he took full responsibility for what happened. “I know there is nothing I can say that will fix this or make the grief any better. I understand that an apology can never be enough for a loss like this,” Sidhu said in tears.“To every person who was injured or traumatized that day, I am deeply sorry. I know the pain and impact of what happened did not end when the crash ended,” he said, adding that he as a father of two young kids could not imagine the pain of Paul’s son growing up without a mother.The court observed that Sidhu did not have a clean record and, in fact, had multiple prior speeding infractions. On the day of the fatal crash, he had been working for more than 26 hours, which included at least 16 hours of driving. His truck was traveling at high speed when it entered a construction zone and crashed into stopped cars. The construction area was well-marked and had signage indicating a reduced speed zone of 60 km/h, it said, and the truck had been speeding at about 107 km/h leading up to the crash.Paul, who was 31 at the time of the crash, competed as an ice dancer with her partner and eventual husband, Mitchell Islam. The pair had claimed three Canadian Championship medals and competed at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games before retiring in 2016.
