BATHURST, N.B. - Two New Brunswick mothers whose sons were killed in a 15-passenger van crash say the collision Monday in Ontario that killed 11 people reinforces their belief that the vehicles are "death traps."
Isabelle Hains and Ana Acevedo issued a statement today saying 15-passenger vans offer no protection to passengers because they were not designed to carry people.
Seven members of the Bathurst High School boys basketball team and the wife of their coach were killed in January 2008 when their van collided with a transport truck on an icy New Brunswick highway.
New Brunswick, Quebec and Nova Scotia have since outlawed the use of the 15-passenger vans for public students.
The crash Monday near Hampstead, Ont., claimed the lives of 10 migrant workers and the driver of a flatbed truck that collided with the van.
Police say some of the victims have family in the area and have lived in Canada for many years, but others have relatives only in Peru.
