Truck driver Sukhwinder Sidhu was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of former Canadian figure skater Alexandra Paul in 2023. Sidhu was also banned from driving for seven years.The accident caused a collision of seven cars and injured several people, including Paul’s 10-month-old son, who suffered a broken leg. Before being sentenced, Sidhu apologized to the victim and said he took full responsibility for what happened. “I know there’s nothing I can say that can fix this or ease the grief,” Sidhu said through tears. “I know that for a loss like this, an apology is never enough.”“I’m deeply sorry to everyone who was hurt or traumatized that day. I know the pain and impact of what happened does not end after the accident is over,” he said, adding that as a father of two, he could not imagine the pain of Paul’s son growing up without his mother.The court noted that Sidhu did not have a clean record and had, in fact, had numerous previous speeding offences. On the day of the fatal accident, he had worked more than 26 hours, at least 16 of which were driving. His truck was traveling at a high rate of speed, entered the construction site and hit a parked car. It is said that the construction area is clearly marked and there are signs indicating that the speed reduction zone is 60 km/h, and the truck’s speed before the accident was about 107 km/h.Paul, who was 31 when the accident happened, was competing in an ice dancing competition with her partner and later husband, Mitchell Islam. The pair won three Canadian championship medals before retiring in 2016 and competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
