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2008 Bathurst Boys in Red accident

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File:2008 Bathurst Crash.PNG
The wreck on Route 11. Seats can be seen lying a fair distance from the main wreck. Passengers were ejected as well as the seats upon impact.

The 2008 Bathurst van collision was a collision between a van carrying a basketball team with a transport truck just outside the town of Bathurst, New Brunswick. Eight people were killed and four others were injured. The basketball team was from Bathurst High School and were returning to Bathurst after a basketball game in Moncton. The accident was the worst in New Brunswick since a logging truck lost control and tipped onto a hayride in Cormier Village, New Brunswick killing 12 in 1989. It was also the worst accident involving a Canadian sports team.

Accident

The Bathurst High School basketball team was returning from a game on the night of January 11 2008 after a basketball game against a Moncton rival. In the early hours of January 12, the van traveling northward on Route 11 was approaching the city limits and in front of the Miramichi Avenue exit when the van driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with a southbound transport truck. Only moments before the accident, Nathan Cleland, one of the passengers, called his parents to let them know they were only minutes from home, Cleland's parents stated that the boys were laughing and having a good time before the accident. Cleland was one of the 8 killed in collision.

The wreck was discovered by a police officer who had originally only noticed the transport truck off the road and called for a tow truck. Upon approaching, he discovered the mangled van and called for backup. Three rows of the van were torn out along with its passengers. According to early reports, three bodies were thrown outside the van along with their seat belts and seats. Officers were slow to respond due to freezing rain which had begun to fall. Eight of the van occupants were pronounced dead - seven students and the van driver's wife. The four survivors of the van, two players, the basketball team coach/driver and his daughter were rushed to Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst. One of the injured was listed in critical condition, two in stable, and the fourth was released shortly after the accident. The driver of the transport truck was not injured.

Causes

The investigation remains open at this point. Snow, rain and freezing rain fell across potions of the province the entire day. At the time the team was returning home, temperatures fell, causing icy conditions along the road. According to accident investigators, snow built up until it obscured the road and shoulder dividers. The driver, Wayne Lord, would have had obscured vision of the divider from his point of view and would have been unable to determine which lane the vehicle was in. The vehicle touched the shoulder before losing control. The vehicle then fishtailed into the opposite lane, where it was struck by the oncoming truck.

Another factor that may have contributed to the accident was fatigue. According to regulations in the province of New Brunswick, persons driving a vehicle with sports teams, etc., may not work more than fourteen hours in that day. The driver started working at Bathurst High School at 8 a.m. that day, and the accident occurred just after midnight. This means that the teacher had worked for over 15 hours, beyond regulations, though it is unsure if Lord was actually teaching and working that entire time. Fellow staff members claim that Lord was a cautious man and would not have put his team or his family in that sort of danger. Lord has worked at the high school since 1979 and has driven routes around the province well over a thousand times. Staff claim it seems unlikely he would have played a role in the accident.

The van lacked snow tires, which provide more traction then traditional all-season tires.

The accident is causing school boards and teams across Canada to review their transportation policies. This investigation is expected to bring into question the safety of the 15-passenger van - a class of vehicle that has a poor safety record. The vehicle was a Ford Club Wagon. These vehicles were once considered more cost effective than buses, but are now banned or being phased out for school use in many states, provinces, counties and school districts. Following the accident, all New Brunswick schools immediately halted the uses of these vehicles. It is expected that the vehicles will be banned for carrying sports teams in the province in the coming months. If so, New Brunswick will be the second province to do so, after Nova Scotia.

Victims

Killed

  • Javier Acevedo, 17
  • Codey Branch, 17
  • Nathan Cleland, 17
  • Justin Cormier, 17
  • Daniel Hains, 17
  • Nick Kelly, 15
  • Elizabeth Lord, 51
  • Nickolas Quinn, 16

Injured

  • Timmy Daley, 17
  • Bradd Arseneau, 16
  • Wayne Lord, ?
  • Katie Lord, 17

Reaction

Parents of the students were waiting at the local McDonald's about 10 minutes from the site of the accident, waiting to pick up the students after the bus was late, before learning of the crash earlier in the morning.

Bathurst High School superintendent John McLaughlin said that the entire community was in a state of shock. Provincial officials arrived at the gymnasium to set up a memorial in the early morning. The day after the accident, McLaughlin was questioned on the laws and regulations governing team travel across the province. He noted that, in order to drive people under 14, the teacher/driver needed a special license. When asked if the teacher had a licence, he said yes. When asked further about regulations about driving in bad weather, he stated that there were no laws or regulations in the province which stated when teams could be driven or not depending on the weather. He also added, "That's really hard because you have to gauge the weather each time you have to make a decision," he said. "As for what happened last night, I can't comment. I don't have that information. But in general, our people take great care in making decisions based on the information that they have at the time."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the incident has "shocked the nation" and called for a day of mourning across the country.

Premier Shawn Graham stated, "I just want to extend sympathies to the affected families. This is a tragic situation for the community of Bathurst and our province."

On January 16, five days following the accident all extra-curricular activities in the province were canceled. Services were held across the province. A funeral for the seven basketball players was held in Bathurst. Elizabeth Lord's followed the next day.

See also

References