An inquiry into the tragic highway accident that killed seven high school students in northern New Brunswick began Monday, with testimony from the truck driver whose vehicle collided with the group's van.

The inquiry is examining the events that led to the accident that killed seven members of the Bathurst High School basketball team and the coach's wife.

Their van skidded on a slushy highway as they returned home from a game in Moncton on Jan. 12, 2008. The van crossed over the centre line, and crashed into an oncoming transport truck.

On Monday afternoon, the driver of the transport truck testified that the van swerved in front of him, and he had almost no time to react.

Mothers of the students came to the Bathurst, N.B., court hoping for answers.

"I want to see the truth," said Isabelle Hains, whose son Daniel died in the crash.

Ana Acevedo, who lost her son Javier, said she wanted to see recommendations that would protect against similar accidents.

"I want to see what recommendations will protect the kids," she said. "That's my only goal: keeping children safe. They should be priority number one."

After the accident, an RCMP report identified safety problems with the 15-seat van, noting it would not have passed a safety inspection at the time of the accident. The 11-year-old Ford Econoline had worn all-season tires, broken brakes and a rusting body, the report found.

A Transport Canada report also found that driver fatigue may have played a role. Driver Wayne Lord had apparently been on duty for 16 hours before the accident.

The jury will be asked to listen to all the evidence and testimony, and then make recommendations about how to prevent future accidents. Its job will not be to assign blame.

The inquest is scheduled to last two weeks and is headed by chief coroner Greg Forestell.

While New Brunswick has already banned the use of such vans to transport students, many parents say they want more. They have banded together to press the province for new regulations on the transport of students to extracurricular activities.

With a report from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw