BATHURST, N.B. - Canadian schools should not be transporting children in small, multi-passenger vans like the one involved in a tragic crash in northern New Brunswick, the man at the heart of the inspirational "We Are Marshall" story said Thursday.

Jack Lengyel, who helped rebuild the Marshall University football team after a devastating 1970 airplane crash, was visiting the small community of Bathurst, where seven high school basketball players and the wife of their coach were killed in a horrific crash in January.

While the RCMP have concluded road conditions were likely to blame, the type of 15-passenger van involved in the crash has come under scrutiny, prompting some jurisdictions to ban their use when transporting students.

"I think it's time for communities to recognize that this is not a safe way to move your most prized possession around - your students and your children," said Lengyel.

"And that they ought to look at financing and putting qualified buses with qualified drivers in all the schools to facilitate extra-curricular activities."

The New Brunswick government announced soon after the crash that it was suspending the use of the vans, which are commonly used by schools and community groups across Canada, and other provinces have taken similar steps.

In the United States, schools are banned from buying or leasing new 15-seat vans, however some states allow older ones to be used. A study by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board concluded in 2002 that the stability of 15-passenger vans decreases when fully loaded.

Schools in Nova Scotia were already prohibited from using them before the Bathurst crash.

And Transport Canada is currently reviewing the 15-seat vans to determine whether new vehicle standards are necessary. That process started before the tragic crash in New Brunswick.

Meanwhile, Bathurst High School said someone in the community has anonymously donated a 20-passenger bus - at a cost of about $80,000 - to transport students to and from events such as sports games.

Lengyel took over the Marshall University football team in West Virginia the year after most of the players and coaches were killed in the plane crash. All 75 passengers and crew were killed, including 37 players and eight coaches.

The university's story was made into a movie, "We are Marshall," in 2006, with actor Matthew McConaughey playing Lengyel.

Although many people thought the football program should end, Lengyel worked night and day to find the players and coaches he needed for a new team.

Lengyel, who is now a software executive living in Arizona, was so moved by the Bathurst tragedy and its similarities to Marshall that he volunteered his time and is paying his own way to visit the northern New Brunswick city.

Bathurst is still a community in mourning. The eight died when the passenger van they were in went out of control on an icy highway and slammed into an oncoming tractor-trailer just minutes from Bathurst on the night of Jan. 12.

The team was returning from a game in Moncton, N.B.

The boys who died, aged 15 to 17, were all members of the Bathurst High School senior varsity basketball team, The Phantoms.

The two-lane highway leading into the city was slick with ice at the time.