Inquest into girl's 2022 school-bus death hears from school, police, medical witnesses
CBC
WARNING: This story contains distressing details
A coroner's inquest into the death of a 13-year-old girl following a school-bus incident more than two years ago heard Monday how her school, police and her family doctor all tried to help her in the months leading up to her death.
The Department of Justice and Public Safety announced in September that it would hold an inquest into the death of Hailey Pierce, who died at the Moncton Hospital on April 13, 2022, from injuries she suffered on her way home from Dorchester Consolidated School the previous day.
Hailey was sitting with a friend at the back of the bus when she suddenly stood up, opened the back door and jumped out, the inquest heard.
Deputy chief coroner Michael Johnston and a jury made up of three men and two women are publicly hearing evidence from witnesses to determine the facts surrounding the teenager's death.
The jurors, selected Monday morning from 44 prospective jurors, will also have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.
School principal June Leger told the Moncton courtroom Hailey "did struggle."
Usually it involved other students at the K-8 school, she said, without elaborating.
But the school provided special accommodations, including a quiet place Hailey could go if she was having a conflict with another student or was feeling overwhelmed.
Still, "when it comes to mental health, schools aren't always equipped to … help the students as much as they need," said Leger. So the school, which has about 100 pupils, applied to the province for a counsellor through the integrated service program.
Hailey also had a regular check-in meeting with her resource teacher and with the behaviour mentor assigned to her classroom, she said.
"So there was a lot of people that she could turn to," Leger said.
Everything the school could do for her, it was doing, she said.
Lisa Wells, who was the guidance and resource teacher at the time, testified she saw improvements in Hailey, that the teen who used to leave the school property regularly was instead using the tools provided.
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