2.5 year sentence for driver in crash that killed Canadian Olympic ice dancer

Olympic figure skater Alexandra Paul is pictured in this undated image. (Supplied)

Sukhwinder Sidhu has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for killing Olympian Alexandra Paul and injuring four others, including her 10-month-old son.

He was behind the wheel of his transport truck for more than 16 hours when he crashed into several cars in a construction zone nearly three years ago in Melancthon Township, a small, rural southern Ontario community.

Sidhu pleaded guilty just days ahead of his trial in February to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm in the horrific crash along County Road 124 on Aug. 22, 2023.

The court heard he was working for 26 hours, including driving for almost 16 hours straight before barrelling into Paul’s car, sending it crashing into a ditch while her little boy screamed.

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Paul was an Olympic figure skater from Midhurst, Ont., just 90 minutes north of Toronto. Her husband, Mitch Islam, who she skated alongside, described the life-shattering consequences of Sidhu’s actions.

“The family I dreamed of will never be whole,” Islam said, telling the court of losing his wife and the mother of his little boy before he took his first steps or celebrated his first birthday.

Islam described marrying the girl of his dreams, ”as partners on and off the ice for more than 12 years, calling their bond ‘unbreakable,’“ reliving the moment he found out his wife has died on her way home from the family cottage that day.

Their son, who was pulled out of the wreck by Sidhu, was taken to SickKids Hospital with a broken leg.

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The court heard Sidhu, who had been working for 26 hours and driving for about 16 straight, was travelling at the truck’s maximum speed of 108 kilometres per hour, nearly double the 60 kilometres per hour reduced speed limit.

The other drivers, hurt in the pileup, along with Paul’s parents, aunt and uncle, and sisters, delivered victim impact statements as well, telling Sidhu of the pain his actions caused them, ruining their lives, devastating their health, hopes and dreams.

Paul’s mother described her daughter’s tireless determination, grace, kindness and loyalty. An Olympic athlete-turned-lawyer whose best days were ahead of her, she told the court, “What was taken from Alex hurts me more than what was taken from me,” adding, “The world is not the same to me anymore.”

Paul’s father told Sidhu, “What happened that day was absolutely soul crushing for all of us and shouldn’t have happened.”

“She was simply amazing and had such a bright future.”

Alexandra Paul was a star at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, representing Canada in ice dance at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi with Islam, whom she married in 2021 after going to law school.

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Before being sentenced, Sidhu addressed the court apologizing for his actions, saying:

“Not a day goes by where I do not think about the life that was lost, the pain that I caused and the people whose lives were changed forever because of my actions.

“As a father of two baby girls, one of the hardest things to live with is thinking about Alexandra’s son,” Sidhu said.

“My actions took a mother away from her child. That is something that breaks my heart and will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

The defence had asked Sidhu to serve a conditional sentence of house arrest for two years less a day, saying he was remorseful and did not make a conscious choice to cause harm.

Justice Clayton Conlan called the crash a “disaster” and “unimaginable carnage” with a record of speeding, adding “today is not about vengeance or retribution,” disagreeing with the defence that Sidhu’s actions were a result of a momentary lapse in judgement.

Conlan said the professional truck driver’s actions resulted in some of the most profound consequences that one could imagine.

Upon his release from custody, Sidhu will be banned from driving for seven years.