Photo by Associated Press

4/17/2018

On April 6, 2018, a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos, a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team was involved in an accident on the way to a playoff game. While on the way, the bus collided with a semi truck, with the accident killing 16 and injuring 13 others, mostly players aged 16-21. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have not confirmed exactly what happened to cause the accident, but have led many to believe that the bus broadsided the semi truck. The accident occurred at the intersection of Highway 35 and Highway 335, which is just 20 miles south of Nipawin, Saskatchewan, where game five of the playoff series between Humboldt and Nipawin was set to take place.

The police say that the investigation will take quite some time as to what exactly happened, as they would like to examine data from the vehicles’ computers and interview people from the bus and the truck driver. The truck driver had only been driving for two weeks, the owner of the Adesh Deol Trucking company said, and he was detained by police at the scene before being let go shortly after.

According to the New York Times, the crash occurred at approximately 5 p.m., when the skies are clear and the highway was free of snow and ice. The intersection is in a very rural area, and there were no obstructions around the intersection. This, however, is not the first accident at this intersection. In 1997, a collision killed six family members in a pickup truck after the driver ran a stop sign on Highway 335; a tractor trailer subsequently plowed into the truck at the Highway 35 intersection. Transport Canada, Canada’s Department of Transportation, stated that bus crashes in Canada are fairly common, with 4,026 happening between 2010 and 2015. Despite the high number of crashes, though, there had only been one casualty during that time span.

The outpouring of support for the team has spread across virtually every aspect of society. From Justin Trudeau to Donald Trump to the Pope, world leaders have extended their condolences to the families and communities that have been affected. The large social media movement #PutYourStickOut also swept across the world, with people from all over leaving their hockey sticks out on their front porches or outside team locker rooms. Participants say they are leaving the sticks out just in case the players need them.

The Stanley Cup was even brought to the hospital where players are being cared for, and NHL players have also stopped by and paid a visit to the victims. The NHL sent out stickers with the Humboldt Broncos logo to all of the teams and said that the teams could place them on their helmets during the playoffs. Players have also taken action. Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby asked the Penguins equipment manager if he could make a jersey with “Broncos” as the name on the back, so all of the Penguins could sign it and send it to the victims. Many NHL teams had a moment of silence before their first games after the crash. Just as well, the Winnipeg Jets and the Chicago Blackhawks wore Broncos jerseys for a game.

A GoFundMe was started for the victims of the crash, and as of Sunday evening has grossed more than 11 million dollars. This is the largest GoFundMe ever to take place in Canada, and the third largest worldwide. According to CBC, the Humboldt Broncos management hired a law firm to help them allocate the donations to the victims. The firm they hired is working pro bono (i.e. without charge) to help the victims of the tragedy as much as possible.