Inquest into 2022 death of N.B. girl continues into second day

Seven witnesses testified in the second day of a coroner’s inquest looking into the death of a 13-year-old girl in 2022.

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

On Monday, witnesses testified the girl opened the back emergency exit of her school bus on the afternoon of April 12, 2022, in Dorchester, N.B., and jumped out.

She died of her injuries on April 13. Coroner David Farrow ruled it death by traumatic brain injury in a matter of suicide.

On Tuesday, witnesses spoke about her life prior to the incident, including her mental health struggles.

The jury of five, made up of two women and three men, heard from three different psychiatrists – two of whom only had interactions with the teen through the emergency room – and her regular psychiatrist Dr. Syed Sadiq.

Sadiq testified he diagnosed the girl with both ADHD and a mood disorder, which was being treated with different medication.

He noted her mom reported she had seen a difference in her daughter since starting the medication.

Witnesses said a therapist regularly saw the teen, who had seen a child and youth mental health social worker three times before her death.

The witnesses testified during these sessions they would come up with coping strategies like breathing and grounding exercises, and the girl expressed problems she was having at her school, mostly with her peers.

She started at Dorchester Consolidated School in September 2021.

Chief Nursing Information Officer Jennifer Little wasn’t directly involved with the girl’s case, but provided details from emergency room records on Tuesday, noting she was brought to an emergency room 10 times between November 2021 and March 2022.

She says that nine of those times involved suicidal ideations.

The girl was never admitted to hospital for in-patient treatment regarding her mental health and suicidal ideations.

Multiple witnesses said the girl never presented as needing that route of care due to the amount of support and services in place for her outside the hospital.

Dr. Brigitte Dandenault, a psychiatrist with Horizon Health Network, said being admitted doesn’t necessarily fix everything since the patient would have to face their problems and what causes them once they are released.

Little said six different recommendations have come forward at Horizon Health, including making sure everyone asks the same questions when it comes to checking if a patient is suicidal and providing mental health and addictions support through a specific team at all times in the emergency room.

In total, 15 witnesses have spoken about the teen’s struggles and the events that led to her death.

With a coroner’s inquest, the jury will be able to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.

That process is expected to get underway on Wednesday. 

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