THUNDER BAY – Robyn Harper was drunk to the point where she was dragged through snow and drew concern from passersby before being taken home on the night of Jan. 12, 2007.
Yet, according to evidence heard on Thursday during the coroner’s inquest into her death as well as the deaths of six other students attending school in Thunder Bay from remote First Nations communities, there was never serious consideration towards taking the 18-year-old to a hospital.
Harper was found dead the next morning after she had been left to spend the night on the floor of a downstairs hallway in her boarding home, only days after she had moved to the city for an education.
Harper recently moved to Thunder Bay to attend Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School and Skye Kakekagumick, who she knew from back home at Keewaywin First Nation, was one of her few friends.
On the Friday night the two had met up at a shopping mall and obtained alcohol from an older man they knew from back home. They later met with friends at Friendship Gardens where they spent the next few hours drinking.
After drinking the alcohol they had, all but Kakekagumick left Harper because they didn’t want to “babysit” her.
Kakekagumick testified she tried to carry Harper. She couldn’t, so instead she dragged the girl by her feet through the snow-covered park between Harper’s occasional fits of vomiting. Once she got her to the sidewalk she struggled to help Harper get to the former Brodie Street bus terminal site.
Once the two got closer they were rejoined by friends, who helped them get to the terminal.
As seen in evidence from surveillance footage, the sight of Harper barely conscious caught the attention of a woman who asked if Harper was OK and if she needed assistance.
The footage shows a man who appears to be a security guard talking to Harper. Minutes later Harper was sprawled across the bench.
Shortly after a worker from the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council, which administers DFC, arrived and drove Harper to her boarding home on County Park Boulevard.
One of Harper’s roommates at the time later in the day testified Harper was too drunk to get to her bedroom and they left her on the hallway floor.
The inquest also heard from three police officers who were called to the scene shortly after Harper was found in the morning not breathing. They arrived immediately after paramedics declared her deceased, with one testifying Harper still had wires from a defibrillator on her neck and chest.
There was also vomit near her body.
Earlier during the inquest a forensic pathologist and toxicologist both testified the cause of death for Harper was acute alcohol toxicity.
