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Russell, Adam and Raelene Herold are seen in this undated family handout photo.Russell Herold/The Canadian Press

The parents of the youngest Humboldt Broncos player killed in a highway crash say they’ve filed a lawsuit because they want changes to provincial and federal laws.

Russell and Raelene Herold of Montmartre, Sask., filed a statement of claim on Monday in Regina court on behalf of their 16-year-old son Adam.

In a statement issued today, they say their lives have changed forever since their son’s death.

They say that they’ve filed the lawsuit because they have broader concerns they believe need to be addressed.

Those concerns include licensing and truck safety for inexperienced drivers, highway safety and bus safety.

They also say changes are needed to allow victims and their families to pursue full compensation against those responsible.

“No family should have to go through what we’re enduring,” said the Herolds. “Our family loved each other, supported each other and did everything together — that’s what families are supposed to do.

“Adam’s death has taken this from us and we hope that by pursuing this legal action, no other family ever will have to experience the excruciating grief and profound sense of loss that has overtaken our lives.”

The Broncos were on their way to a playoff game when the crash happened north of Tisdale, Sask., on April 6. Sixteen people on the bus would die and 13 others were injured.

The lawsuit alleges a semi-truck driver with inadequate training failed to stop at a flashing stop sign at a rural intersection where trees partially obstructed the view of traffic before colliding with the junior hockey team’s bus.

It further alleges the roof of the Broncos bus was not designed to withstand the crash and that the bus should have been equipped with seatbelts.

The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages as well as court orders, including one which would declare that all buses carrying sports teams in Saskatchewan be equipped with seatbelts and other safety devices.

RCMP have charged the semi driver, 29-year-old Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, with 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily injury.

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