Man a no show for sentencing in fatal collision

A Crown prosecutor is doubting the reason given for a man who failed to appear in court Wednesday for sentencing in relation to a fatal crash.

Inderjit Singh Sidhu, 40, who lives in Calgary, was unable to make it to Prince George on time because Highway 16 East was closed by a traffic accident, the court was told.

But Crown prosecutor Marie-Louise Ahrens said she did some checking, starting with the DriveBC website and then following up the RCMP and was told there have been no closures along not only Highway 16 but also Highway 5 and Highway 1 to the Alberta border.

A warrant for his arrest was issued Wednesday.

It was the second time Sidhu has been a no show for sentencing. He was supposed to appear on May 25 but thought he was supposed to be there on May 26, even though that was a Saturday, the court was told.

A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued and on June 5 he was released on $5,000 bail.

There is a chance he will have arrived in Prince George by late Wednesday. If so, what to do with his case will be considered during a hearing Thursday morning.

Sidhu has pleaded guilty to one count of driving without due care and attention from the Jan. 28, 2013 incident on Highway 97 near Hixon.

A Surrey man died at the scene in a collision between two tractor trailer units.

A cousin of Sidhu's was in contact with him by phone. An interpreter was also on hand Wednesday.