Driver charged in Saskatoon child's death first in Sask. to face cannabis impairment causing death charge

THC-related charge a first Woman charged in girl's death is first person in Saskatchewan to face charge of driving while impaired by THC.

The woman charged with driving while impaired by THC causing the death of a girl is the first person in Saskatchewan to face this type of charge.

On Sept. 9, 2021, nine-year-old Baeleigh Maurice was crossing a marked crosswalk on her scooter on 33rd Street West when she was hit by a truck.

The driver, a then 27-year-old woman, has been charged with “impaired operation while exceeding the prescribed blood-drug concentration of THC causing death.”

While charges involving alcohol as an impairment have been laid in the past, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice says this is the first cannabis impairment causing death charge laid since the new federal cannabis legislation came into force in 2019.

Police said the charge was laid following a toxicology test and consultation with Crown prosecutors.

The woman is set to make her first court appearance in April, when her name will be released.