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Cardinal said the most aggravating factor is that his actions led to the deaths of 16 people and caused a catastrophe that will linger for years to come.

However, Cardinal continued, there were “many” mitigating factors, including Sidhu’s guilty plea that spared the families a lengthy, painful trial. Sidhu has also shown genuine remorse and will likely suffer psychological pain for the rest of his life, the judge said.

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Sentences are fact specific, Cardinal continued. She said she accepts that Sidhu did not purposefully drive through the intersection in order to speed up his trip, but says he had “ample time to react” to the intersection — had he been paying attention.

Mark Dahlgren, whose son Kaleb was injured in the crash, said he still doesn’t know what their “new normal is because we’re still in a bit of a fog.

“It still seems surreal, what’s happened, and going through these processes. I never expected to be involved in something like this, nor even know anybody that’s been involved like this. I still wake up some mornings and just shake my head, and can’t believe this has happened to us.”

Photo by Liam Richards / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Chris Joseph, whose son Jaxon died in the crash, said his family was unhappy with the sentence.

“We knew we were going to be disappointed coming in, but we thought Judge Cardinal was very professional, very prepared, and I think she came back with the number that was probably the best for all the parties,” Joseph said.

“It seems like it’s something that would kind of appease our families, yet maybe not be appealable by the defendents. As far as the number goes, me personally, I knew I was going to be disappointed no matter what. There’s no number that would have made me happy. But I do respect the fact that Judge Cardinal did a really thorough job, and we were very impressed with how she did that.”