TISDALE, Sask. — Rural politicians in Saskatchewan want changes made at a remote intersection where 16 people lost their lives after a semi truck and a bus carrying a junior hockey team collided.

Half a dozen crosses — a memorial for six members of one family who died in a collision at the same intersection more than two decades ago — already sit near a stand of trees at the corner of the intersection.

Now area residents are demanding changes at the intersection of Highway 35 and a secondary highway at a spot known as Armley Corner.

Coun. Dale Poggemiller with the Rural Municipality of Connaught lives near the intersection and says there’s no doubt it’s dangerous.

"This cannot happen again. This is tragic. We’ve got to act on this. There has to be something done," Poggemiller said Wednesday.

"We’ve all travelled on buses everywhere and you know how dangerous things can be. And to have something like this happen, everybody just feels so sad, and they just want to see something good come out of this."

The Humboldt Broncos were heading to Nipawin on Friday for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game when the crash occurred. There were 29 people on the bus — 16 died and 13 were injured. The driver of the truck survived the crash.

The rural municipality is asking the Saskatchewan government to install rumble strips at the intersection and to lower speed limits.

"In the wake of this and the fact that this is the second one, yeah, maybe something needs to be done," said deputy reeve Ian Boxall.

"If we get rumble strips out of this and we get a safer intersection out of this, great. It doesn’t relieve any of the grief or the pain that’s been caused by this," he said. "Moving forward, we have to look at all our intersections."

Boxall said provincial officials have agreed to meet with the municipality once the police investigation is done. He said the province should review all rural roads that cross intersecting highways.

Norman White lives across the road from the crash site. He said people have been talking about improvements to the intersection since three adults and three young children from the same family were killed in 1997.

"After that other accident, I thought they should put them rumble strips on the highway and they never have," he said.

Myles Shumlanski was the first parent to arrive after the collision on Friday. His son Nick was one of the few that escaped the accident without serious injury. He said no parent should have to see something like this happen again.

"When the RCMP are done with their investigation … hopefully this will never happen again and it can’t happen again.

"This is devastating." </s> The site of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash that killed 15 and left 14 others injured remained littered with reminders of what happened, even well after the victims had been taken to hospital.

White crosses mark the spot where six people were killed in a crash in 1997. That crash killed Rod Fiddler, 33; his wife, Terri Lynne Fiddler, 30; and their children Jocelyn, 4; Jasmine, 3; and Kassandre, one month. The girls' aunt, 26-year-old Wendy Lou Fiddler, also died in the crash. It's the same intersection the Broncos bus collided with a semi.

Two Nipawin RCMP officers were among the many who paid respects at the scene.

More people gathered, and more tributes were left, as the days stretched on. </s> The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced Friday that they have arrested the driver of a truck that collided with a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos' junior hockey team in April, which resulted in 16 deaths and injury to 13 others.

Jaskirat Sidhu, 29, was arrested at his home in Calgary at 10:07 a.m. local time Friday, per the RCMP.

Sidhu faces 16 counts of "dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death" and 13 counts of "dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm."

The RCMP said that Sidhu will "make his first appearance in Saskatchewan Provincial Court next week."

The April accident occurred at an intersection in rural Saskatchewan. There were 29 players and people associated with the team on board the bus as the Broncos were making their way to a playoff game. </s> The driver of the tractor-trailer that collided with the Humboldt Broncos team bus has been arrested and charged, RCMP announced on Friday.

Truck driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, 29, is facing 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and 13 counts of dangerous operation of motor vehicle causing bodily injury.

He was arrested at his home in Calgary on Friday morning and remanded into custody. Sidhu is set to appear in court in Saskatchewan next week, but no date has been set.

Convictions for dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death can result in a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, while a conviction for injuring someone could land someone in prison for 10 years.

RCMP Superintendent Derek Williams explains the difference between a dangerous driving charge and driving without due care and attention charge. 0:36

"Whatever happened, happened for a reason," said crash survivor and former Bronco Ryan Straschnitzki. "His intention wasn't to go out and hurt us that day, but that mistake is obviously going to change his life and changed all our lives."

The Humboldt Broncos released a statement Friday afternoon thanking the RCMP and its investigators for their work.

"Our organization has faith in the justice system and we will be watching closely as this court process plays out," the statement read. "Our primary focus continues to be supporting the survivors, families and others that were directly impacted by the tragedy on April 6."

Sidhu was working for the Calgary-based Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd. when the crash occurred at a rural intersection.

He was driving west on Highway 335 in a semi as a Charlie's Charters bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos was northbound on Highway 35 to an SJHL playoff game in Nipawin, Sask.

The team bus was travelling northbound on Highway 35. The semi-trailer was coming from the east on Highway 335. The semi had a stop sign and the bus did not. (CBC )

The bus had the right of way. There is a flashing stop sign for drivers on Highway 335 at Highway 35 between Nipawin and Tisdale. The RCMP said the semi was in the intersection when the vehicles collided.

Sidhu was briefly detained after the April 6 collision then released. He was uninjured.

"I know it has been difficult for many to await the outcome of this police investigation," said Curtis Zablocki, Saskatchewan RCMP commanding officer and assistant commissioner, noting the three-month timeline. "The time it took to do this work — this important work — was necessary."

The Canadian Trucking Alliance said in a statement Friday that once the facts of the case are known, it will work with the provinces and the federal government to improve commercial vehicle safety.

The statement also said the CTA would like to see the results of the investigation into the trucking company that employed Sidhu.

What we know about Sidhu

Sidhu worked for the trucking company for a month prior to the fatal collision, according to owner Sukhmander Singh. Singh said Sidhu trained with him for two weeks and was driving on his own for two more weeks before the crash.

Although Sidhu was not injured in the crash, he did receive trauma counselling in the aftermath.

Sidhu was a bachelor of commerce student at Panjab University in Chandigarh, India, from 2008 until 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He made his way to Calgary on a student visa in 2013 to study for a diploma in business administration at Bow Valley College from 2014 until 2015.

Sidhu's lawyer declined to comment on his client.

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Humboldt Broncos were heading to Nipawin for a playoff game when the collision occurred.

Ten Broncos players died. The six other deaths included the bus driver, an athletic therapist, the head coach, assistant coach and two employees of Humboldt's FM radio station.

Ten members of the Broncos died in the crash. The six other deaths included the bus driver, an athletic therapist, the head coach, assistant coach and two employees of Humboldt's FM radio station. (CBC)

Dangerous driving vs. criminal negligence

Saskatoon-based criminal defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said dangerous driving is just one of the possible charges that can be laid after serious collisions in Saskatchewan.

Criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm would be among the other possible charges.

Pfefferle said the RCMP's decision to charge Sidhu with dangerous driving suggests the Crown will argue that the driver's behaviour was more than negligence or a momentary lapse of judgment.

In order to secure a conviction, Pfefferle said the Crown will have to prove that the accused was driving in "a manner that constituted a marked departure from the standard of a reasonably prudent driver in the circumstances."

"There's lots of accidents that happen on Saskatchewan roadways where these types of charges aren't laid," said Pfefferle.

"So I'm slightly surprised, I guess, by the fact that they've laid the charge but they obviously know information that the rest of the public doesn't know."

The stop sign

Police have not disclosed the findings of their investigation into how the crash happened.

Brad Muir, an accident investigator with the Collision Reconstruction Group in Ajax, Ont., said he is pleased to see charges laid.

"I think we need to look and dig a little further into the facts of not just going through a stop sign, but what was the speed?" he said.

"We've got obviously a heavily laden commercial vehicle."

Muir believes professional truck drivers need to be held to a high standard.

"I think that's going to go into the decision-making of laying that higher level criminal charge," he said. </s> Charges have been filed against the driver of a tractor-trailer that collided with a bus carrying members of a Canadian junior hockey team, killing 16 people, authorities in Canada’s Saskatchewan province said Friday afternoon.

The driver faces 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, and 13 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily injury, said Curtis Zablocki, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner in Saskatchewan.

He was identified as Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, said Rob King, public information officer for the Saskatchewan RCMP.

Sidhu was arrested Friday and will make his first court appearance next week, authorities said. CNN is trying to contact his attorney for comment.

Members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team were headed to the town of Nipawin for a playoff game the night of April 6 when a tractor-trailer collided with their bus north of Tisdale, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

Ten players, aged 16-21, were killed, along with six adults — the bus driver, an athletic therapist, the head coach, an assistant coach and two employees of Humboldt’s FM radio station.

At least 13 other people on the bus were injured. The driver of the truck was not hurt, authorities said.

Investigators didn’t provide details Friday about how the crash happened. The bus was traveling north on Saskatchewan Highway 35 and the truck was heading west on Saskatchewan Highway 335, authorities have said previously.

Humbolt is a town of about 4,800 people. The tragedy was felt across Canada, where hockey is the dominant sport and making long bus rides to tournaments is a rite of passage for young players. </s> Alberta has suspended Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd. as standard procedure following the tragedy

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal crash outside of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, Saturday, April, 7, 2018. A bus, top, en route to Nipawin carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team crashed into a truck Friday night, killing 14 and sending over a dozen more to the hospital.(Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)

The company that contracted out the tractor-trailer that hit a Humboldt Broncos bus in Saskatchewan has been suspended from operations, following standard procedure.

The Alberta transportation ministry confirmed Tuesday that Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd., based in Calgary, has been suspended as a result of the crash that killed 15 people and sent 14 others to hospital last Friday.

According to ministry spokesperson John Archer, the company’s fitness safety certificate was suspended, grounding its only other truck.

Archer said this is standard procedure following a collision, and that Alberta will assist Saskatchewan in its investigation.

The company, which began operating in Alberta last fall, had zero safety violations at the time of the crash.

It’s expected to take investigators months to determined what caused the crash that claimed so many lives and devastated not only the town of Humboldt, with fewer than 6,000 people, but the entire country.

READ: ‘Heroes to many:’ Support offered to Humboldt students after bus crash kills 15

The Broncos hockey team was travelling along Highway 35 to a playoff game in Nipawin when the crash occurred.

Darren Opp, president of the Nipawin Hawks, said a semi T-boned the players’ bus.

The truck driver was briefly detained and let go at the time. His name has not been released. Saskatchewan police say he is receiving mental health assistance

A post from a user on the website Reddit that supports the driver is gaining popularity, having been viewed more than 10,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon.

“As we all sit back and contemplate all that has occurred since the collision and the massive emotional impact of the death of 15 people, please know that some of us are thinking of you as well,” the user writes.

“Although the exact cause of the collision and the events prior remain unknown to us, we do know you didn’t set out to end 15 lives as you turned the ignition that fateful day.

“You survived. You will need help to overcome this tragic incident that is also taking a significant toll on your and your family’s wellbeing. I sincerely hope that you will be able to heal, and that other Canadians wish the same.”

The more than 1,100 comments on the post were largely in support of the driver.

“This is the most Canadian post I’ve ever read. Much respect from USA. We could learn a lesson in humility and manners from y’all,” read one comment.

An online fundraiser for the team had reached nearly $7.7 million as of Tuesday afternoon.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> Alberta has suspended Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd. as standard procedure following the tragedy

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal crash outside of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, Saturday, April, 7, 2018. A bus, top, en route to Nipawin carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team crashed into a truck Friday night, killing 14 and sending over a dozen more to the hospital.(Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)

The company that contracted out the tractor-trailer that hit a Humboldt Broncos bus in Saskatchewan has been suspended from operations, following standard procedure.

The Alberta transportation ministry confirmed Tuesday that Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd., based in Calgary, has been suspended as a result of the crash that killed 15 people and sent 14 others to hospital last Friday.

According to ministry spokesperson John Archer, the company’s fitness safety certificate was suspended, grounding its only other truck.

Archer said this is standard procedure following a collision, and that Alberta will assist Saskatchewan in its investigation.

The company, which began operating in Alberta last fall, had zero safety violations at the time of the crash.

It’s expected to take investigators months to determined what caused the crash that claimed so many lives and devastated not only the town of Humboldt, with fewer than 6,000 people, but the entire country.

READ: ‘Heroes to many:’ Support offered to Humboldt students after bus crash kills 15

The Broncos hockey team was travelling along Highway 35 to a playoff game in Nipawin when the crash occurred.

Darren Opp, president of the Nipawin Hawks, said a semi T-boned the players’ bus.

The truck driver was briefly detained and let go at the time. His name has not been released. Saskatchewan police say he is receiving mental health assistance

A post from a user on the website Reddit that supports the driver is gaining popularity, having been viewed more than 10,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon.

“As we all sit back and contemplate all that has occurred since the collision and the massive emotional impact of the death of 15 people, please know that some of us are thinking of you as well,” the user writes.

“Although the exact cause of the collision and the events prior remain unknown to us, we do know you didn’t set out to end 15 lives as you turned the ignition that fateful day.

“You survived. You will need help to overcome this tragic incident that is also taking a significant toll on your and your family’s wellbeing. I sincerely hope that you will be able to heal, and that other Canadians wish the same.”

The more than 1,100 comments on the post were largely in support of the driver.

“This is the most Canadian post I’ve ever read. Much respect from USA. We could learn a lesson in humility and manners from y’all,” read one comment.

A Facebook post quoting the Reddit post said that the truck driver had read the note.

An online fundraiser for the team had reached nearly $7.7 million as of Tuesday afternoon.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> OTTAWA: A bus carrying a junior ice hockey team collided with a truck on a rural highway in Canada´s western Saskatchewan province, killing at least 14 people, local media said Saturday citing police.

The Saskatoon StarPhoenix said 14 more were injured -- including three critically -- in Friday´s accident involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus.

The bus was carrying 28 people including the driver.

Police said the crash took place at around 5:00 pm about 28 kilometers (18 miles) north of the town of Tisdale, a trading center in an overwhelmingly agricultural region.

The team was heading north for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game against the Nipawin Hawks.

The Saskatchewan league is a feeder system for higher levels of hockey with many graduating to play at US and Canadian colleges and major junior league level, while some go on to the National Hockey League.

"It is a significant accident, we had a tractor trailer and a bus collide," Royal Canadian Mounted Police inspector Ted Monro told a press conference, declining to give details about the victims.

The condition of the truck´s driver is unknown.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority said on Twitter it was dealing with a "high volume of incoming trauma cases" at Royal University Hospital and St Paul´s Hospital, both located in Saskatoon some 250 kilometers (150 miles) away from the crash site.

Victims´ families were directed to Nipawin Apostolic Church for information and support.

"I cannot imagine what these parents are going through, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, in the Humboldt community and beyond," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted.

"Our Broncos family is in shock as we try to come to grips with our incredible loss," Broncos team president Kevin Garinger said in a statement.

The team comprises 24 players, all from Canada, with the youngest aged 16 and the oldest 21.

"It´s a horrible accident, my God," Darren Opp, president of the Nipawin Hawks hockey team, told the Globe and Mail. "It´s very, very bad.

"There´s uncles and moms and dads waiting to hear whether their sons and nephews are OK."

In a statement, Hockey Canada said was "devastated" by the news.

"Our hockey community is a tight-knit family. We will come together in support of each other in the days ahead, as we mourn those lives lost, remember the injured and support those whose lives are forever changed by this tragedy," it added.

In a country where ice hockey is a national sport, news of the crash sparked an outpouring of grief on social media, with fans and players alike sharing messages of condolences using the hashtag #PrayforHumboldt.

"My entire career I´ve looked forward to every bus trip", tweeted Anaheim Ducks defenseman Steven Oleksy.

"It´s a place where players can forget what happens on the ice. 2night my heart is in Humboldt."

An online fundraising page set up by a woman listed on social media as a Humboldt resident raised nearly CAN$40,000 in a matter of hours.

The fatal smash brought back memories of a single vehicle bus crash in December 1986, also in Saskatchewan, that killed four members of the Western Hockey League Swift Current Broncos.

The Swift Current Broncos also shared their condolences.

"Humboldt Broncos weighing heavy in our hearts and minds tonight," the team said on Twitter. </s> (Matt Smith/The Canadian Press via AP). Emergency crews continue to block the highway on Saturday, April 7, 2018, near the area where a bus carrying a junior hockey team to a playoff game was struck by a semi Friday, north of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Can...

(650 CKOM/980 CJME via AP). This image provided by 650 CKOM/980 CJME shows emergency crews responding to the scene where a bus carrying a junior hockey team to a playoff game was struck by a semi Friday, April 6, 2018, north of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, C...

(Liam Richards/The Canadian Press via AP). This Saturday, April 7, 2018 photo shows Elgar Petersen Arena, home of the Humboldt Broncos, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada, Saturday, April 7, 2018. Canadian police said early Saturday that several people...

(Liam Richards/The Canadian Press via AP). A truck drives by the welcome sign honoring the members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada, Saturday, April 7, 2018. Canadian police said early Saturday that several people ...

(Liam Richards/The Canadian Press via AP). Humboldt mayor Rob Muench, in the Broncos team jersey, along with other mourners lay down flower on the stairs that enter to Elgar Petersen Arena, home of the Humboldt Broncos, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canad...

NIPAWIN, Saskatchewan (AP) - The Latest on a bus crash in Canada that left 14 people dead (all times local):

The driver of a truck that struck a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos youth hockey team was uninjured in the crash that killed 14 people and injured 15 others.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said he was initially detained but has since been released. He says the driver has been provided with mental health and wellness assistance.

Zablocki says the investigation is in its early stages, and it's too early to state a cause. The crash happened at about 5 p.m. Friday.

A radio announcer who gave play-by-plays for Humboldt Broncos hockey team games is among the 14 people killed in a bus crash in northern Saskatchewan. Tyler Bieber worked for the Humboldt station CHBO.

A manager with the company that owns the station confirmed in an email to staff that Bieber died in the crash. Jordan Seipp, a friend, also confirmed his death. The deaths of the team's head coach, Darcy Haugan, and captain, Logan Schatz, have also been confirmed by relatives.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed condolences for the 14 people killed when a truck collided with a bus carrying a junior hockey team in western Canada.

Trump said in a tweet Saturday afternoon that he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "to pay my highest respect and condolences" to relatives of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team. Trump concluded the tweet saying, "May God be with them all!"

Canadian police say the crash happened at about 5 p.m. Friday on Highway 35 in Saskatchewan when a semi T-boned the bus. The Broncos were on their way to play in Game 5 of a semi-final against the Nipawin Hawks.

The captain of a junior hockey team is among the 14 people killed in a bus crash in western Canada.

The father of Logan Schatz says his 20-year-old son had played for the Humboldt Broncos for the past four years and had been the team's captain for two of those.

Head coach Darcy Haugan was also among the 14 killed.

Canadian police say the crash happened at about 5 p.m. Friday on Highway 35 in Saskatchewan when a semi T-boned the bus carrying the hockey team.

The Broncos were on their way to play in Game 5 of a semi-final against the Nipawin Hawks.

Authorities have yet to identify all of the deceased. Fifteen others were injured.

Canadian police say 14 people were killed in a bus crash involving a junior hockey team in western Canada.

Police said early Saturday another 14 were injured, three of them critically.

The bus was carrying the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

It collided with a transport truck in Saskatchewan.

The team was on its way to the city of Nipawin for a game when the crash happened.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Saskatchewan politicians seek a redesign of the intersection where the crash occurred, which was also previously the scene of a six-death crash in 1997.