Semi driver who ran red sentenced to 20 months in Saskatoon crash that killed 2

Dayne Patterson · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 11:02 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A semi-truck driver who ran a reddish airy successful Saskatoon and crashed into different vehicle, sidesplitting 2 people, has been fixed a 20-month conditional condemnation by a provincial tribunal judge.

According to an agreed connection of facts, Amritpal Singh Virk, 29, was driving connected 22nd Street eastbound toward Diefenbaker Drive connected Oct. 7, 2022, erstwhile helium drove done a reddish airy and into the driver's broadside doorway of an SUV.

The 2 occupants of the SUV, a 59-year-old antheral and 60-year-old woman, some died arsenic a effect of their injuries.

On Thursday, provincial tribunal justice Lua Gibb sentenced Virk to 20 months for each death, to beryllium served astatine the aforesaid time. He volition beryllium under what is commonly referred to arsenic location arrest, with uncommon exceptions to leave. After that, helium is expected to beryllium connected probation for 2 years.

"This isn't thing that we see arsenic someway a triumph oregon thing similar that. There's nary triumph successful a lawsuit similar this," said Virk's defence counsel, Brian Pfefferle.

"It's conscionable specified a tragedy."

In September 2024, Virk pleaded blameworthy to 2 counts of unsafe driving causing death. The maximum punishment for the offence is beingness imprisonment.

According to tribunal documents submitted connected behalf of Virk, he had a cleanable driving abstract earlier the crash. He had nary erstwhile transgression grounds and presently lives successful Regina, the documents said.

Virk, a permanent nonmigratory of Canada, had been driving commercialized vehicles for astir 5 years and was not impaired astatine the clip of the collision, the agreed connection of facts states.

Pfefferle said these types of offences bash not often pb to community-based sentences, but the condemnation handed to Virk allows him the accidental to stay successful the country, since a condemnation of much than six months in a situation could mean helium would person to instrumentality to India.

There's inactive nary warrant that he'll beryllium capable to stay successful Canada, Pfefferle said. He anticipates Virk volition beryllium served a removal order, but the condemnation provides a accidental to entreaty that.

"Mr. Virk, obviously, was seeking the accidental to enactment successful the country, but I wouldn't accidental he feels a sense of relief. I wouldn't accidental helium feels a consciousness of thing different than conscionable aggravated sadness, grief and remorse for this," Pfefferle said.

Among his conditions, Virk is barred from driving for 5 years.

The collision

The agreed connection of facts details the 2022 crash.

Virk was driving a "super-B" — meaning a motortruck pulling 2 trailers — erstwhile helium struck the SUV astatine astir 10:44 p.m. The full value of the semi-truck and trailers was not expected to transcend 63,500 kilograms, but astatine the clip of the collision it was astir 65,600 kilograms.

At the scene, Virk admitted responsibility to police. He had said helium saw the airy crook yellow, past red, but did not deliberation helium had capable clip to stop.

A forensic collision reconstructionist's study said that about 6.8 seconds passed betwixt the airy turning reddish and the collision. 

Despite immoderate issues with the semi's brake system, it could person stopped earlier reaching the intersection, according to the agreed connection of facts. The semi was driving astatine astir 67 km/h erstwhile it deed the SUV.

Virk had a past of driving an overweight semi. In September 2022, 14 of his 19 value slips indicated helium drove implicit the maximum allowed value of the semi. 

In the 2 weeks starring up to the crash, helium besides had 14 violations that included entering inaccurate information, failing to instrumentality 10 hours disconnected work successful a time and driving aft 14 hours of on-duty time.