TORONTO - The father of a Toronto-area teen who hanged herself said good can come from tragedy as he applauded an announcement Wednesday by Ontario's chief coroner to hold an inquest into her death.
Sara Carlin, 18, died on May 6, 2007, at her home in Oakville, just west of Toronto.
The year before, the social and athletic teen had been put on an antidepressant. Her father, Neil Carlin, has blamed her death on the drug.
Sara had been prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor -- a class of drug used to treat depression.
"It's been a long hard road for us. We're just thankful this is coming," Carlin said in a telephone interview.
"There can be some very positive lessons learned from our daughter's death."
For Carlin, the inquest has been a long-time coming.
Following Sara's death, he pushed the province to launch an examination into the circumstances. After a year without action, local media reported that Carlin's request had fallen on deaf ears.
On Wednesday, Carlin said the inquest could provide valuable insight for families in similar situations.
"We feel this is incredibly important to the youth in Ontario, and Canada, that the issues around these drugs are brought to the forefront," said Carlin.
The inquest will look specifically at the circumstance of Sara's death, said Dorothy Zwolakoski of the Office of the Chief Coroner. However, the inquest could provide a broader examination into the role of antidepressants in teenage suicides.
"The focus of an inquest is for the public interest, so (that) deaths such as Ms. Carlin's be prevented," Zwolakoski said.
No date has been set yet for the inquest.
