'Each was very, very special'
Published Tuesday January 13th, 2009
Community comes together to remember van tragedy victims during anniversary service
The victims of last year's tragic highway fatality were formally remembered on Sunday, as hundreds who filled Holy Family Church for an anniversary service.
Prayers, hymns and scriptures filled the hour-long bilingual service, presided over by Father Greg Culligan, as the community gathered yet again to remember those who lost their lives in the horrific van tragedy of Jan. 12, 2008.
"Each (victim) was very, very special in their own way. Each is a very, very big loss to their families and to their community," said Mayor Stephen Brunet, after reading the names of the seven varsity athletes and high school teacher who perished in a highway collision with a tractor trailer on Highway 8 during a snowstorm.
He noted the anniversary of the crash was a fitting time to reflect on the lives lost and the survivors, and to gather with friends and family to help with the continued healing.
"It's been a difficult year to say the least," said the mayor, noting that fateful day has come back repeatedly over the past 12 months, with the various findings of different investigations, and the media reports that accompanied them.
He said the tragedy was something that brought the community together like never before, and that the victiims of Jan. 12, 2008 will always be remembered.
"As a community, we are still deeply mourning the loss. We will never forget...That is why we are here today," said Mr. Brunet.
On the spiritual side, Rev. Austin Jagoe from First United Church said that even in difficult and trying times, there is comfort in the scriptures "for today, tomorrow and the days to come...God is always there for us."
Friends, families and relatives filled the first nine pews in each section of the church, which were reserved for that purpose.
The solemn service's most moving moments came with the lighting of candles in remembrance of each of the victims. Family members came forward as the names were called out, eight candles being lit in all to symbolically remember Javier Acevedo, Codey Branch, Daniel Hains, Nathan Celand, Justin Cormier, Nikki Kelly, Nick Quinn, all members of the Bathurst High School boys basketball team; and teacher Beth Lord.
The family of Nikki Kelly even wore shirts with the name Nikki written on the back.
Elsewhere during the service, vocalist Torey Smith sang "I Miss You" by Mily Cyrus without musical accompaniment, in tribute to the boys. She and Daniel Hains had been working on a musical performance for a Bathurst High variety show prior to the crash.
Besides Mayor Brunet of Bathurst, other mayors who attended Sunday's service included Gilberte Boudreau of Nigadoo, Nick Duivenvoorden of Belledune and Pierre Godin of Petit-Rocher.
Also in attendance were Bathurst Liberal MLA Brian Kenny, the provincial Minister of State for Seniors and the Minister responsible for the Community Non-Profit Organizations Secretariat; and Acadie-Bathurst MP Yvon Godin.
Late Sunday night, around midnight, more than 100 braved the bitter cold gathered to pay their respects at the actual crash site on Highway 8, just inside the city limits where two basketball nets were erected as memorials shortly after the accident. Meanwhile, at an official memorial site at Bathurst High School, candles burned through the evening and people came and went late into the night.
Yesterday, a private memorial service was held at Bathurst High. Over at Terry Fox Elementary, where Beth Lord taught, the students wore blue ribbons in remembrance of Mrs. Lord, whose favourite colour was blue.
The accident occurred just after midnight on Jan. 12, 2008, as the team was returning home in a school van from a game in Moncton. Five people survived the collision, including the driver of the tractor trailer.
The magnitude of the crash made international newscasts, and a memorial service at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre was televised nationally.
Thorough and detailed investigations were done by both Transportation Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the findings of both concluded that it was an accident.
A coroner's inquest will be held sometime this spring.
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