The family of a 16-year-old girl who died of hypothermia after being found unresponsive in a West Edmonton Mall parking lot is suing North America’s largest shopping mall and Cineplex Entertainment.
Jasmin Kyle was found unconscious in a parking lot for seven hours on a cold December 2019 night by a grader operator around 3am.
Police were called to the scene and after performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she was taken to Misericordia Hospital, where she died.
An autopsy revealed that Jasmine was heavily intoxicated at the time of her death. She also had cannabis in her system. Her death was deemed accidental.
Jasmine’s grandmother, Debbie Sandberg, told CBC News, “I still can’t believe she’s gone.
“It left a huge hole in our hearts and changed our family forever.”
Sandberg filed the lawsuit five months ago and only now has spoken about Jasmin’s death.
Two unnamed security guards have also been named as part of the $165,000 lawsuit.
security no one finds
On December 6, 2019, Jasmine told her grandparents that she was going to a movie with her girlfriend and then had a sleepover.
But instead, Jasmine and friends ended up at the West Edmonton Mall and Rec Room, owned by Cineplex Entertainment.
Sandberg wasn’t sure how her granddaughter got the alcohol, but police said surveillance video showed Jasmine and seven other young people outside the Rec Room. said.
“They were seen drinking and having snowball fights on video cameras in the rec room parking lot,” Sandberg said.
I was the last person to hug her when she died– Debbie Sandberg
According to the autopsy report, CCTV footage showed Jasmin leaving the Rec Room at 6:50 pm. She said that when police saw the footage, at 7:33 p.m. she found Jasmin running up the stairs of a parking lot, chasing another girl and laughing.
An intoxicated woman passed out at the West Edmonton Mall around 8 p.m. in the same parking lot area where Jasmine was eventually found, according to the autopsy report.
There was no CCTV coverage of the parking lot where Jasmine was found, according to the autopsy report.
“The West Edmonton Mall security guards were then dispatched to the parking lot but were unable to find anyone,” the report said.
It was -10 degrees that night.
The grader operator found Jasmine in an empty parking lot at 3am. Jasmine’s body was sandwiched between a cement barricade and a wall. Police were called to the scene.
CPR performed by a constable
Brady Dryer and his partner were near the West Edmonton Mall when a constant urgent phone call came in.
“We knew it would be cold outside, so it was important for us to arrive early,” Dryer told CBC News in an interview last week.
Dryer said by the time they got to Jasmine she wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. The ambulance could not climb the ramp due to height restrictions.
“I had to take Jasmine to the hospital,” Dreyer said. “So instead of waiting any longer, we put her in the back of a police car and continued CPR on her there.
“The partner then drove the lights and sirens of the police car to the hospital.”
Shortly thereafter, Sandberg received a call from the police, who told him that Jasmine was in the hospital’s trauma unit and that 15 people were working to save her life.
She was urged to go to the hospital immediately.
Hospital staff tried for nearly four hours to revive Jasmine before doctors pronounced her dead.
“I was the first to hold her when she was born,” Sandberg said. “And when she died, I was the last to hold her.”
“She had a really nice and gentle smile.”
Sandberg said he couldn’t sleep for the first week after Jasmine died.
“I always woke up between 3 and 4 a.m. and imagined her lying on a snowman,” Sandberg said.
Dryer is also haunted by memory.
“I remember Jasmine had a school ID,” Dreyer said. “I remember seeing her smile in the picture and she had a very nice and sweet smile.
“Every time I think about this case, I think about it.”
Dreyer and his partner investigated Jasmine’s death and visited Sandberg to answer her questions. they keep in touch.
“I think Jasmine’s family left a big impression on me,” Dreyer said.
“It’s definitely a phone that I’ll keep thinking about for the rest of my life.”
lawsuit
The statement of claim alleges that Jasmine’s death was caused by negligence. A security guard at the mall “never left the premises to search for Jasmine Kyle and, at best, had limited surveillance camera visibility.” I just confirmed,” he claims.
Court documents also accuse the defendants of serving alcohol to minors, employing incompetent or poorly trained staff, and failing to provide proper video or other surveillance.
The allegations have not been proven in court. No defense has been filed.
The West Edmonton Mall did not respond to repeated requests for comment by the CBC.
A Cineplex spokesperson issued a written statement on behalf of Rec Room, calling Jasmine’s death a “tragic loss” and expressing sympathy to the teen’s friends and family, but said the legal action was taken. He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing issue.
Sandberg knows her granddaughter made some bad choices that night, but she believes others share the blame, including the one who was with her granddaughter.
She said no one has apologized to her or her family.
Sandberg also hopes the company she’s suing will make meaningful changes to prevent another death like Jasmine’s from happening again.
“I think there are a lot of people who can attest that they made stupid choices when they were teenagers, and they’re here to talk about it.
“She paid the worst price you could pay.”
Comments
Post a Comment