Forgiveness Is Moving Forward

Humboldt, Saskatchewan bus/tractor-trailer crash

 

On April 6, 2018, a horrific crash occurred at a highway intersection in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring another 13. The tractor-trailer, in the middle of the  intersection and heading west, was t-boned by a bus traveling north and carrying 27 members of a hockey team on their way north to a semi-final game in a neighboring community. The truck failed to yield at a series of warning lights and a flashing stop-sign and was struck by the northbound bus, which crashed into the tractor-trailer at an approximate speed of 100kph. The scene was a nightmare for all those involved in the aftermath - the strewn carnage, the death, the extent of the injuries, the suffering.

The local community and the country were stunned, in shock and at a loss to explain how something like this could happen, even though a family of 4 had previously lost their lives at the same intersection. Parents were in shock, a shock that turned into anger and then into sadness and loss. The funerals lasted weeks and a few of the injured were in hospital for months. A tragedy of enormous proportions, it touched people around the world.

The driver of the truck:  He was young, inexperienced and had only started driving for the trucking company the previous month. Still, he didn't slow down, didn't even try to stop his truck. Distraught and contrite, he pled guilty at his trial in order to spare the families any more grief. He was given an 8-year jail sentence and a probable deportation back to India once paroled.

It's been difficult for the families to move forward, the conflicting emotions, the overwhelming sense of loss - a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter.  Most of the parents gave victim impact statements at the trial, some condemning the driver, others questioning, some trying to come to terms and a few, forgiving.

A few months after the trial and thinking about what her son would want, Tricia Wack, the mother of 21-year old Stephen Wack, one of the deceased who had a promising future ahead of him, penned a moving letter to the driver.     


“To Jaskirat Singh Sidhu:

 I say the following. I forgive you. Since Stephen’s death in the crash that day, I often ask myself, what would Stephen think, say or do? The answers often govern my actions. I can say with conviction that my son Stephen would forgive you. Stephen was a spiritual young man with a strong faith in God; he practiced forgiveness with an open heart and was compassionate by nature.” 

Stephen Wack