Safety too important to transport students in vans, says former coach of deceased team

Schools shouldn't be transporting students in passenger vans like the one that was in an accident that saw the deaths of seven Bathurst, N.B., high school students and a local teacher, says the former coach of a football team that died in a airplane crash.

Jack Lengyel, the man who helped rebuild the Marshall University football team captured in the movie We Are Marshall, met with staff and students at Bathurst High School in northern New Brunswick on Thursday.

The seven members of the Bathurst Phantoms basketball team and their coach's wife, teacher Elizabeth Lord, died Jan. 12 when the 15-seat van they were travelling in struck a tractor-trailer while returning from a game in Moncton in snowy conditions.

The small, multi-passenger vans are not safe enough and schools should find a more appropriate bus to transport students, Lengyel told reporters.

"I would urge everyone in the school systems to look at trying to get buses with qualified drivers. The safety of our children is more important than just putting them in a 15-passenger van," he said.

Education department reviewing guidelines

The RCMP and Transport Canada are still investigating the accident but have indicated that road conditions and not the vehicle likely played a key role in the crash.

Highway 8 was covered with snow and ice at the time and the van didn't have snow tires.

In the wake of the accident, the New Brunswick government suspended the use of the 15-seat vans to transport students for the rest of the academic year. It has also asked that schools discontinue the use of the vehicles for extracurricular activities.

In the meantime, the Department of Education is reviewing its transportation guidelines and will look at ways to minimize the risk of student travel.

Bathurst High School also reports that since the accident, an $80,000, 20-passenger bus has been anonymously donated to transport students to sports and other activities.

Touched by Bathurst tragedy

Lengyel will be meeting with members of the Bathurst community throughout Thursday.

He said he was touched by the tragedy that devastated the small city of about 13,000 and decided to travel to New Brunswick at his own expense.

Lengyel met with Grade 11 and 12 students and talked to them about how to deal with tragedy. He told them that how they deal with these months of their lives and their ability to find a way to move on is what will define their character.

"All of us have got to move forward and be positive as we move forward," Lengyel said. "Life is full of choices and you make choices every day and you move forward every day."

Lengyel told CBC News that he wanted to have the opportunity to address some of the concerns of the community and provide them with concrete examples of how Marshall University dealt with its loss.

"I don't have all the answers but I do have some past experience that I think I can share with these people," he said.

Lengyel took over the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team in West Virginia after an airplane crash in 1970 killed 37 players and eight coaches.

Some people felt the football program should end following the accident but Lengyel worked to find players and coaches to keep the team going.

The Huntington university's story was depicted in the 2006 movie We are Marshall, with Matthew McConaughey playing Lengyel.

The former coach, who now works as a software executive in Arizona, said Bathurst is already taking positive steps to move beyond the tragedy.

He said he hopes that as part of the grieving process the high school decides to continue with its basketball program next season.

"You remember the people who were here before. You honour them by talking about them, remembering the good times you had with them," Lengyel said. "I would think you just start the basketball team back up and you continue to move forward."