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They were gathered at a local McDonald's, waiting for their sons to return.

The Bathurst High School varsity basketball team was away that Friday evening on a road trip. This had become a routine for these families and that night the parents expected the team van to arrive at about 11:30 p.m. Weather conditions were deteriorating but several of the players - who had lost their game in Moncton and were due to play Saturday near Bathurst - had called to say they were almost home.

Midnight came and went. There was no sign of the van and parents were beginning to worry.

Then came the call from police: There had been an accident. They were to go to the hospital.

They arrived to what they thought was the worst of it. "My parents had seen the first two boys come in - one with a broken arm and the other with broken ribs - so they figured they had brought in the worst-case scenarios first and they weren't really worried," said Emily Cleland, sister of one of the victims.

"And that's when they realized that the ambulances had stopped coming because the other ones had died on impact."

Killed shortly after midnight were students Javier Acevedo, Cody Branch, Nathan Cleland, Justin Cormier and Daniel Haines, all of them 17. Also dead on impact were Nickolas Quinn, who turned 16 the day of the crash, and Nick Kelly, 15.

Also killed was Beth Lord, an elementary school music teacher and the wife of coach Wayne Lord, who was driving. Mr. Lord was shaken up but released from hospital yesterday.

The three other passengers, including the coach's daughter, were also injured.

Police said the team's 15-seat passenger van veered across Highway 8 and was struck by a transport truck that tore the van apart - just five minutes away from arriving in this city of about 12,700, and two kilometres past the "Welcome to Bathurst" sign on a straight stretch of road.

Officials said it was too early to look at whether the crash could have been prevented. Provincial guidelines say a school bus should be used for trips of this distance.

For now, as this shattered community struggles to come to grips with the deaths of seven students and a teacher, city officials are faced with the grim task of organizing a mass funeral.

Private visitations are to be held tomorrow for the seven boys and a non-denominational public service for all of them will be held the next day. Ms. Lord's service will be held separately.

The boys' funeral service will take place Wednesday afternoon at the local arena, the largest facility in town. The building holds 2,000 people and the mayor said that an overflow crowd is expected.

Word spread quickly through the community following the crash, with students showing up at the school as early as 4 a.m. An online tribute was created on the Internet site Facebook barely two hours later.

A memorial sprang up at the crash site, where the boys' friends yesterday erected a pair of basketball nets. One of the nets was promptly filled with flowers and there were other flowers planted in the snow, which last night was still darkly stained and littered with debris.

Flowers also accumulated at Bathurst High School, where students spent much of the weekend meeting with grief counsellors. Every table in the cafeteria was equipped with a box of tissues and visitors wrote personal messages on bed sheets that will be distributed to the boys' families.

"I knew basically all of them," said Troy Simpson, 18. "Everybody's still taking it

really hard."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent principal Coleen Ramsay a letter offering his condolences for Ms. Lord and the "promising young students."

"The sudden loss of eight people in this unthinkable accident shocked the nation and all Canadians join you in mourning their passing," he wrote. "As a father, I particularly grieve with the parents who have lost their children."

Emotions are still raw here and few of those grieving at the school wanted to discuss their feelings. Those who did, both students and adults, tended to express an air of unreality.

"I don't think it's going to settle in until the wake, or perhaps the funeral," said Neil Carrington, the rugby coach for Mr. Haines who, along with the other boys, played several sports.

Police investigating the accident told reporters they believe it was caused by the icy road conditions following snow and freezing rain in the area that night.

One woman who drove the fatal stretch of highway in a four-wheel-drive vehicle shortly before the accident said, "I was going 60 to 65 and my heart was in my throat."

Still, the incredible unlikelihood of the incident was on the minds of many. One police officer pointed out that he saw no more than two large trucks go by in the four hours he was at the scene. And yet the victims were unlucky enough to be in a van that lost control on the slippery road at the instant a transport truck approached. The impact tore open one side of the vehicle, ejecting passengers and the benches they were sitting on.

Hospital chaplain Father Robert Leger described yesterday the harrowing scene on Saturday morning as families realized their children were dead.

"I told parents their boys have to be let go," he said. "Even if they are dead they have to be let go. The ones that we love, you cannot ask them to stay with us."

With a report from The Canadian Press

THE BOYS WHO WERE LOST

Javier Acevedo

The 17-year-old played soccer as well as basketball. A native of Bathurst, he would have graduated this year and was planning to attend the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton next fall. He leaves behind three sisters and a brother. Cody Branch

Friends say he transferred to Bathurst High to be part of the basketball program and soon became "the life of the team." A well-rounded athlete who also played hockey, mini handball and soccer, he was 17. He is survived by one brother and one sister. Nathan Cleland

A star guard on the team, the 17-year-old planned to take a year off and then maybe train as a firefighter, his sister said. He was also a soccer player and finished in the top five in long jump and the 200-metre dash at the provincial championships in 2006. He leaves behind one sibling.

Justin Cormier

He was both a volleyball player and a guard on the basketball team. Friends describe his passion for poker and paintball and say he was a keen skateboarder. One friend described heaven for the 17-year-old as being like a half-pipe. He was the eldest child in the family and is survived by one brother.

Daniel Haines

Characterized by friends as "a teddy bear," he was known for his sense of humour and was described by one coach as "extremely well-grounded." The 17-year-old, who played rugby as well as basketball, leaves behind a brother.

Nick Kelly

Known to friends and family as Nikki, this 15-year-old was another multisport athlete. A keeper on the school soccer team, he backstopped them to the finals of the provincial championship last year. He was an honour student who would have been 16 this spring. He is survived by two brothers.

Nickolas Quinn

He turned 16 the same day as the crash. Described as an accomplished student and athlete, he participated in several sports. On top of basketball, he was a soccer player and runner. Last year, he raced to second-place finishes in the 1500-metre and 3000-metre events at a provincial championship. He leaves behind one

brother.

Oliver Moore