Timeline remains unclear due to several factors, spokesperson
Quebec's Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) is reviewing the police investigation into the death of 13-year-old Megan Bell, who was fatally injured on a chairlift at Centre Vorlage in Wakefield, Quebec, according to a report.
Bell, of Ottawa, was on a school field trip on Feb. 11 when a piece of her clothing became caught in the lift as she tried to dismount at the top of the hill, CBC reported, citing a state form the police. Doctors told her family she was deprived of oxygen for 10 minutes. She died four days later, according to the report.
MRC des Collines police, who investigated the incident, submitted their findings to the DPCP in late July, the publication noted. The DPCP determines whether charges will be laid.
No timeline for a decision
A DPCP spokesperson told CBC News this week that the file "is currently under review." The office could not say when a decision on charges would be made.
The timeline "depends on several factors, notably the completeness of the file, requests for additional evidence... the complexity of the legal issues raised, the volume of evidence, etc.," the spokesperson said, according to CBC News.
Bell's parents have publicly asked why their daughter could not be reached quickly at the top of the hill, and what emergency equipment and protocols were in place that day.
Coroners awaiting prosecutors
Ontario and Quebec coroner's services are separately investigating Bell's death. Quebec coroner Pascale Boulay may issue recommendations to prevent similar deaths once her review concludes.
Quebec's coroner's office said Boulay's final report cannot be completed until the DPCP rules on charges. A prosecution, if one proceeds, would delay the report further.
Days after Bell was injured, Quebec's ski lift safety regulator found unspecified "non-conformities" at Centre Vorlage that had to be fixed before chairlifts could resume operating, according to CBC.
Centre Vorlage corrected the issues by Feb. 16, and the hill reopened. The specific nature of the deficiencies has not been made public.
Centre Vorlage's owners have said they are committed to learning from the investigations "and to carefully reviewing any recommendations that may result from them," CBC News reported.
