Coroner’s inquest underway following 2022 death of N.B. girl

Details and recommendations surrounding the 2022 death of a 13-year-old New Brunswick girl are expected to come to light over a three-day coroner’s inquest this week.

Due to the sensitive nature of the incident and the age of the girl, CTV News Atlantic will not be reporting her name.

Eight witnesses took the stand on Monday marking the first day of the inquest. A jury of five heard from those on the scene that April 12, day including a bus driver, medical professionals who assisted both that day and previously in the girl’s life and even from some of her school support team.

Deputy Chief Coroner Michael Johnston laid out a number of facts to start the day, including that the girl was sitting at the back of the bus when she opened the emergency rear exit door and jumped out.

She died from her injuries on April 13, 2022.

Bus driver Michael McIntyre was the first witness to testify during the inquest.

He said he heard the alarm go off, indicating the handle on the emergency door had been lifted. He immediately looked into his rearview mirror and saw that the back door was completely open.

McIntyre says he pulled the bus off to the side of the road as soon as he was able to without harming the other students, some of whom were trying to figure out what was wrong, and then walked to the back of the bus to check on the situation.

He testified a student told him the girl had jumped from the school bus.

McIntyre says he told the remaining students to stay on the bus, closed the back door and went to help the girl. He performed life-saving efforts, including CPR, while he waited for help to arrive.

The girl was taken to the Sackville Memorial Hospital before being transferred to the Moncton Hospital due to the severity of her injuries.

Dr. Dhany Charest testified he assessed the girl upon arrival in Moncton and was able to confirm a severe traumatic brain injury.

Charest says he was concerned her injuries were not survivable.

He noted they made the decision to give the patient until the next day to see if there were any improvements or notable brain function, but Charest confirmed that there was still no brain function on April 13.

For the first time since the incident, Moncton’s coroner David Farrow spoke about his findings.

He said he was first made aware of the situation on April 13 after being called by the nursing supervisor at the Moncton Hospital.

Since this happened during the pandemic, Farrow says he received a number of documents to review regarding her case and it was his opinion an autopsy wasn’t needed and the family could move forward with organ donations if they wanted to.

He says on his coroner’s declaration he was satisfied her death was a suicide after reading the reports.

Many details on the girl’s mental health were brought forward on Monday, including the additional support she was receiving at Dorchester Consolidated School leading up to her death.

The girl had started school there in September 2021.

Her family sat in the front row of the courthouse on Monday.

The inquest will continue Tuesday morning at 9 a.m.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.