Accident Wipes Out High School Basketball Team in Canada

Every parent who has sent their kids on a school trip, whether sports or music-related, has feared something like this:

BATHURST, New Brunswick — A van carrying a Canadian high school boys' basketball team collided with a truck Saturday, killing seven students and the coach's wife on their way home from a game.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Derek Strong said the seven players — between the ages of 15 and 18 — were pronounced dead at the crash site after their van crossed the center line and hit the tractor-trailer shortly after midnight.

"The sudden loss of eight people in this unthinkable accident shocked the nation and all Canadians join you in mourning their passing," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a letter of condolence sent to the school's principal.

The accident occurred on Highway 11 as the team was making a three-hour return trip from Moncton in Canada's far eastern New Brunswick province after a storm dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain on much of the province.

The nine senior varsity players — accompanied by their coach, his wife and their daughter — were minutes from reuniting with their families when the team's coach lost control of the van.

What a terrible loss and one that won't be easily overcome.