Ice likely key factor in deadly Bathurst crash: investigator

The predominant factor in a crash that killed eight people in Bathurst, N.B., on the weekend was likely icy roads and not the type of vehicle they were travelling in, says a Transport Canada investigator.

Frank Wilson, a member of the transportation research group at the University of New Brunswick, is co-ordinating the Transport Canada team investigating the horrific accident.

"The predominant factors were road conditions," Wilson said Wednesday.

The seven Bathurst High School basketball players, along with a local teacher, were killed early Saturday when their 15-seat 1997 Ford Club Wagon struck a tractor-trailer while returning from a game.

The teacher, Elizabeth Lord, was the wife of the team's coach, Wayne Lord, who was driving the van.

The coach, his daughter and two other players survived the crash.

Safety issues have been raised about the extended-seating van since the accident. Several jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, including Nova Scotia, have banned schools from using the type of vans.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued several advisories about the dangers of the 15-passenger vans. About 1,100 people in the U.S. were killed in single-vehicle rollovers in the vans between 1992 and 2002. Such vans were found to be three times more likely to roll over than any other vehicle.

But Wilson said the investigation so far hasn't yet led him to suspect that the van was the key factor in the accident.

At the time of the accident, the road was covered with snow and it would have obscured where the road and shoulder dividers were, the RCMP have said.

The vehicle, which wasn't fitted with snow tires, appears to have lost control after hitting the shoulder of the road, police said. The driver may have overcorrected, they said.

Most vehicles would have had trouble in the freezing rain and snowy roads in northern New Brunswick that night, Wilson said.

The investigation is continuing and it is too early to conclude exactly what happened, Wilson said.

The vans are commonly used by school and community groups in Canada.

Since the accident, some schools have announced they have taken their 15-seaters off the road while others have said they are reviewing their travel policies.

Drivers will be interviewed

In New Brunswick, Education Minister Kelly Lamrock said that the province may be conducting its own review of its winter and overnight transportation policies but wouldn't be doing so until the community had been allowed to mourn.

Transport Canada's investigation into the fatal accident includes inspecting the crash site and examining the van, Wilson said.

The survivors, including both drivers, will also be interviewed, he said.

The information that is gathered might be used to develop new standards for the type of vehicle, said the engineer.

Transport Canada has been reviewing passenger vans since August and is considering changing its safety standards.

"The review is ongoing and we hope to have it completed shortly," said Jessie Chauhan, a spokeswoman with Transport Canada. "Then an assessment would be made with respect to whether there are safety benefits to creating a new class for these types of vehicles."

The government agency does have the ability to recall vehicles if it decides they are dangerous, Wilson said. "If they should be banned, they should be banned totally across the board."