Saskatchewan town remembers Humboldt Broncos bus crash 6 years later: memorial site

April 6 marks the sixth anniversary of a Saskatchewan tragedy that rocked the nation.

In 2018, a semi-truck sped through a stop sign in rural Saskatchewan and hit the bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team.

In total, 16 people died and 13 people were seriously injured.

6:55 Focus Saskatchewan: Humboldt 5 years after the bus crash

Canadians donned jerseys to demonstrate solidarity with the team and affected families, or green shirts to show support for organ donations.

The province’s support has carried the team’s legacies for the last six years.

The city of Humboldt and the families of the deceased are remembering the day quietly, but Carol Brons said something larger is in the works.

A member of the Humboldt Broncos memorial committee, Brons said a permanent memorial site is planned for the crash site.

“We hope to have a place where people can come and feel safe and some place that they can visit and remember our loved ones,” Brons said. “It’s been difficult for people that live in the area that have to drive by the site every day.”

She said the first stage of the plan is to make the physical area more aesthetically pleasing, manage the weeds and lay down pathways.

The committee hopes to do that this summer and then put up a permanent memorial the following year.

“That will all depend on funding and help and things like that,” Brons said.

She added she doesn’t want the site to be a hinderance to anybody driving down the highway.

“We want it to be tranquil, we want it to be restful and we want it to be safe.”

Six years later, and the crash has also inspired new trucking training videos with an emphasis on the responsibilities of drivers.

The crash highlighted the need for more training, including driving in winter conditions and learning about the consequences of distracted driving.

Logan Boulet, one of the players who died in the crash, also inspired Green Shirt Day.

People across the province will wear green on Sunday to raise awareness for organ donations, after six people were saved by Boulet’s decision to be an organ donor.

Saskatchewan people have also been following the court process for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the driver who caused the crash by driving his semi through a stop sign and into the path of the Broncos bus.

He is currently fighting his deportation back to India.

— With files from Global News’ Nathaniel Dove. 

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