Cab driver charged in girl's death

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RCMP in La Ronge, Sask., have charged Teresa McLeod, 41, with criminal negligence causing death.

McLeod, a resident of Stanley Mission, Sask., was the cab driver who left 15-year-old Becky Charles on a desolate highway Nov. 29, 1995 where she died of hypothermia. The temperature was ?25 degrees C.

Charles', also of Stanley Mission, was found 12 days after she was ejected from the taxi for causing a disturbance by hitting a passenger who had a heart condition.

McLeod has stated the girl was acting strangely, and police suspect the girl had a severe dose reaction to Gravol, a medication taken for car sickness. An overdose of the drug can cause hallucinations.

The cab driver said she notified her dispatcher to tell the RCMP she had kicked the girl out of the cab about 32 km from La Ronge. The RCMP said police arrived at the drop-off spot 35 minutes after the information was received, but couldn't find Charles.

A searcher found the snow-covered body of Charles only feet from the spot where the girl had been left on the side of the road.

McLeod is to appear in La Ronge provincial court Feb. 26. There is no word as to whether or not the RCMP will be investigating its procedures as it relates to the search for the girl.