'I feel a strong pull to be there': Humboldt Broncos father to attend court for man charged in bus crash

Scott Thomas says he doesn't care how long the court process takes for the man accused of dangerous driving in the death of his son.

Evan Thomas, 18, was a Humboldt Broncos player, and one of 16 people aboard who died after it crashed with a semi.

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, 29, was driving the semi involved and is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday morning in Melfort Provincial Court to face 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 of dangerous driving causing injuries.

And while Scott will be there, he said the tears he sheds everyday over the death of his son have made him deal with everything that's come since one step at a time.

"Sometimes I don't even know if it's a.m or p.m. or what day it is or what month it is, so time is really irrelevant, I don't care if this takes 10 years to play out," Scott told CBC in his Saskatoon, Sask. home.

Scott said the charges now before the courts support hisopinion about what happened that day.

"It is validation for what I knew in my heart when I pulled up at the crash site that night, 40, 45 minutes behind the bus and saw what I could see, and then again when we went back to the crash site the following week with my family and walked the paths of both vehicles," he said.

Changed plans

Initially, Scott and his wife were on the same page about not going to Sidhu's court date but after sleeping on the decision he changed his mind and now plans to go.

"For whatever reason I feel a strong pull to be there," he said.

"One of the things we've always tried to talk to our son and our daughter about is accountability and responsibility for your actions, and just my presence in that courtroom, even if I don't see the guy ... even if he just gets that one little feeling, that yeah, I'm accountable and responsible for what's going on here today."

For that reason, Scott said he would be more comfortable if the driver was not granted bail, if that possibility comes up in court.