Isabelle Hains, left, and Ana Acevedo leave the courthouse in Bathurst, N.B., in May 2009 at the end of an inquest into the van crash that took the lives of seven high school basketball players in 2008. Hains' son Daniel and Acevdo's son Javier were killed.ANDREW VAUGHAN
The donor: Isabelle Hains
The gift: Creating Van Angels
The reason: To support efforts to improve student transport
When a van carrying members of the Bathurst High School boys' basketball team crashed into a truck in 2008, seven players died as well as the coach's wife and everyone thought it was just a tragic accident. Isabelle Hains wasn't convinced.
Her 17-year old son Daniel was among the players who died that January night and she had a feeling something was wrong. "All I heard was that it was just an accident," Ms. Hains, 58, recalled from her home in Bathurst, N.B. "Well it wasn't just an accident. I couldn't accept that."
She began asking questions about the condition of the van and the decision to drive in poor weather . With the help of some others, she launched a website called Van Angels and pushed for a coroner's inquest into the crash. Her efforts led to revelations that regulations had been ignored and that the van had not been properly maintained. The inquest made 24 recommendations to improve student transportation and Van Angels didn't stop there. The group has continued to advocate for better student transport and public education.
Ms. Hains, a retired public servant, acknowledged that the work hasn't been easy. "I was a mother just taking care of my family and the next thing I know, I'm advocating for student safety because of what happened to my son," she said. "And that should have never happened. They should have never died that night."
Paul Waldie