Anna Acevedo sits in front of a photo of her son, Javier, who died in the Jan. 12 Bathurst van crash. Acevedo said she is very disappointed by the RCMP's decision not to press charges and is still seeking justice. (CBC)

Hours after the RCMP said it wouldn't be laying charges in the deadly van crash in Bathurst, N.B., the mothers of two of the basketball players who died said they're very upset by the decision.

The seven Bathurst High School basketball players and local teacher were killed Jan. 12 when their 15-seat 1997 Ford Econoline F350 Club Wagon struck a tractor-trailer on Highway 8 in winter conditions while returning to Bathurst after a night game in Moncton. Eight of the 12 people in the van died.

After a lengthy investigation into the crash, the RCMP said in statement Wednesday that a Crown prosecutor determined "there were no grounds to lay criminal charges against anyone in relation to this crash."

A report released by RCMP earlier this year found the van involved in the collision was in poor condition. Another report by Transport Canada found the driver had been awake for 16 hours and was driving in poor weather conditions.

Still, RCMP Cpl. Roland Wells said on Wednesday that those findings don't warrant criminal charges.

"In criminal court the bar is very high — beyond a reasonable doubt," Wells said.

"I think the reality here is that nobody set out for this to happen. There was a number of unfortunate events that came together at one moment in time and had any of those things maybe not occurred we might not be having this discussion today."

Parents of the victims were told of the decision in the morning and two mothers are speaking out over their disappointment.

Isabelle Hains, whose son Daniel was one of the victims of the crash, said the lack of charges being laid means there is no justice for those children.

"Seven boys died that night, they had a life to live and a future and they were taken away because of road conditions, poor conditions of the van, too many hours of driving on the road and I just feel there is no justice there," Hains said.

"There should have been something. They just can't get away with that. It's not OK that they drove in vehicles like that. It's not OK that they drove in weather conditions like that. It's not OK that he drove for over 14 hours of on-duty time. It's not OK."

Hains said she would be contacting her lawyer now that the police have opted not to lay charges. When asked whether there could be a lawsuit pending, Hains said she would act on whatever advice her lawyer offered.

Anna Acevedo, whose son Javier died in the tragedy, would not comment on whether she would be part of a lawsuit but she said she was evaluating her next steps. Acevedo said she's wondering why there weren't any charges brought in this case.

"I'm very disappointed because I was counting that some kind of charges would be laid, not necessarily to put the people in jail but some accountability should be laid because there is accountability there," Acevedo said.

There is still the possibility of a provincial inquest into the Bathurst crash. Greg Forestell, the province's acting chief coroner, said now that the RCMP has finished its investigation, the regional coroners would forward their files to Fredericton. The Office of the Chief Coroner will decide on whether to launch an inquest once it has a chance to study all of the available reports.

There is no timeframe on when that decision will be made.