Truck driver in crash that killed former Olympic figure skater sentenced to prison time

The motortruck device driver who pleaded shamefaced to unsafe impulsive charges in an Ontario crash that killed a former Canadian Olympic figure skater and injured multiple people was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Wednesday.

Sukhwinder Sidhu pleaded guilty in February to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm in the crash that killed Alexandra Paul and injured her infant son in Melancthon Township, Ont., on Aug. 22, 2023.

A judge in an Orangeville, Ont., court also handed Sidhu a seven-year driving ban after court heard emotional victim impact statements and a tearful apology from the truck driver.

An agreed statement of facts read in court says a truck was driving at a high rate of 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.

The statement of facts said that Sidhu had been working for more than 26 hours at that point, which included at least 16 hours of driving. The judge also noted in his decision that Sidhu had multiple prior speeding infractions.

Seven cars were involved in the crash that took Paul's life, court heard. Multiple people were injured, including Paul's 10-month-old son who suffered a broken leg, it said.

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.

Some of the injured crash victims and Paul's family members read victim impact statements in court on Wednesday. Paul's family, including Islam, told the court that there is a void in their lives since her death and they are heartbroken that her son has been left without a mother.

Islam recounted the day of the crash, saying he'd been excited to welcome Paul and their son back home after their stay at a family cottage, so he sat on the porch and waited for them. When they failed to arrive home and she didn't answer her phone, he used her iPad to track their location to a closed road, he said.

As he was about to leave to find them, a police officer pulled into their driveway, he said.

"When the officer told me Alex was gone, it was crippling fog and numbness. I remember buckling into his arms," he told the court in tears.

Islam said that he and Paul started dating in 2011, and through their ice dance partnership, they formed a bond that was "unbreakable." Their son "has been stripped of her enduring love," he said.

"He'll have to hear about how much she loved him. He will only know from stories about how amazing she was," he said.

Gordon Paul, Alexandra Paul's father, said her future "held unlimited possibilities." She was advancing her career as a lawyer when she was killed, he said.

Her father added he hopes she somehow knows that her son survived the crash and is a "beautiful, loved child."

"I didn't get a chance to say goodbye," he said. "I couldn't give her another hug. She was just gone."

The judge said he took Sidhu's character into consideration in his decision, including the fact that Sidhu had no prior criminal record and has close familial ties. But aggravating factors including Sidhu's driving record and speeding in a marked construction area made a penitentiary sentence appropriate, the judge said.

Before he was sentenced, Sidhu addressed the court, apologizing to the victims and saying he takes full responsibility for the crash. As a father of two young kids himself, he "cannot imagine the pain" of Paul's son growing up without her, he said.

"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, adding he would change that day "in a heartbeat" if he could.

"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.

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