A trust fund has been set up for a Vancouver-area family that lost two young sons in a horrific highway crash on Highway One just east of Vancouver last Saturday.

Nine-year-old Andrew and six-year-old Matthew died after the van carrying the boys was rear-ended by two other cars in the HOV lane of the Port Mann Bridge.

Their eight-year-old brother remains in critical condition in BC Children's Hospital.

In a statement released today, the boy's father expressed gratitude for "the good wishes and prayers" their family has received since the accident.

"Our faith has strengthened and consoled my wife and me for the loss of our dear boys, Andrew and Matthew, and has helped us to be strong for our surviving boys, Lorenzo and Karl, who continues to recover with the loving care of the nurses in the ICU in Children's Hospital," he wrote.

Two elderly family members, aged 74 and 76, who were in the van are also critically injured.

The wrecked Toyota minivan is undergoing a complete mechanical inspection to determine why it filled with smoke and came to a stop in the highway's high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane just before the crash.

Donations to the trust fund can be made at any HSBC branch on the Lower Mainland, in the name of the family's church, St. Francis of Assisi. The account number is 270-324062-080.