Alexandra Paul and Mitch Islam (Olympic Team Canada photo).
A Brampton truck driver has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for the 2023 crash that killed former Olympic figure skater and lawyer Alexandra Paul in rural Ontario.
Sukhwinder Sidhu, 31, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm in connection with the Aug. 22, 2023 collision on County Road 124 in Melancthon Township, near Shelburne. Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan also imposed a seven-year driving ban following Sidhu’s release.
Court heard Sidhu had been working for more than 26 hours and driving for nearly 16 straight hours before his transport truck slammed into a line of stopped vehicles in a marked construction zone.
Investigators determined the truck was travelling between 107 and 108 km/h in a reduced 60 km/h zone moments before impact. Paul’s vehicle was struck from behind and forced into a ditch before the truck hit several other vehicles, seriously injuring four people, including Paul’s 10-month-old son.
Ontario regulations limit commercial drivers to 13 hours of driving time and 14 hours of on-duty work in a day.
Paul, who lived in the Barrie area, competed for Canada in ice dance at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi alongside her husband, Mitch Islam. After retiring from skating, she became a lawyer.
During sentencing, the court heard victim impact statements describing the devastating effect the crash had on Paul’s family and the other victims involved in the pileup.
The defence argued Sidhu’s actions were the result of fatigue and poor judgment rather than deliberate risk-taking, requesting a conditional sentence or a shorter jail term in provincial custody.
Conlan rejected that submission, describing the crash as “unimaginable carnage” and emphasizing the responsibility professional truck drivers have to obey safety laws.
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