Indian-Origin Trucker Pleads Guilty In Crash That Killed Canadian Olympic Skater Alexandra Paul

An Indian-origin truck driver in Canada has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving charges in a 2023 road crash that killed Olympic figure skater Alexandra Paul and injured several others, according to a report by the Toronto Sun.

The newspaper reported that Sukhwinder Sidhu, 31, from Angus, Ontario, admitted to charges of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm on Tuesday, just before his trial was set to begin.

Canadian broadcaster CP24, a Toronto-based television news channel, said Sidhu accepted responsibility for the collision that took place in August 2023 in Melancthon Township, Ontario. The crash claimed the life of Paul, a former Canadian Olympic ice dancer, and left her 10-month-old son and multiple others

injured.

According to the Toronto Sun report, investigators said Sidhu was driving a transport truck at nearly double the posted speed limit of 60 km/h in a construction zone on County Road 124 when he crashed into a line of six vehicles. Crown prosecutors told the court that he ignored several warning signs to slow down.

The court heard that Paul’s vehicle was struck with such force that it was pushed into a ditch, killing her instantly. Her toddler son, who was in the back seat, suffered a broken leg. Three other men in nearby vehicles also sustained what prosecutors described as life-altering injuries, the report added.

Citing details presented in court, the Toronto Sun said Sidhu had been working for 26 hours straight at the time of the accident and that the truck’s onboard systems showed it was travelling close to its top speed of 108 km/h.

Alexandra Paul was a well-known figure in Canadian figure skating. Along with her husband and ice dance partner Mitch Islam, she represented Canada at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and trained at the renowned Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario.

Sidhu’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for mid-May, when victim impact statements from Paul’s family and others affected by the crash are expected to be presented, the newspaper reported.