New investigation launched into death of Benjamin Teague during Rangers’ team building event

It begins with tragic news, back in September 2019, when 17-year-old Benjamin Teague of the Oakville Rangers died during a team bonding event. Since the devastating incident, reports had emerged that Teague’s parents, Greg and Susan had filed a $1-million wrongful death lawsuit against the Rangers, the team’s coaches, the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and the YMCA camp where Ben had died.

An investigation had been done after Ben’s tragic death and a report stated that he and his teammates had allegedly been drinking alcohol at a team-supervised event and that Ben had died after going into medical distress during the middle of the night.

It soon became clear to her that Ben’s death was not being properly investigated by the OHF or the police. Ben’s mother Susan began her own investigation and found out about bullying and hazing during team events, including the team bonding outing.

On Wednesday, reporter Rick Westhead announced that the Ontario Coroner is opening a second investigation into the death Teague. OPP found York Police negligent in their original investigation as GHB was found in Teague’s system at the time of his death:

“The new investigation, confirmed by the coroner’s office, comes after the OPP found York Regional Police Service officers negligent in their original investigation into Benjamin’s death in 2019.

"A posthumous toxicology report concluded that Benjamin had the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, in his system at the time of his death.

"When mixed with alcohol, the colourless, tasteless, odorless chemical can be lethal even in small doses, Dr. Lewis Nelson, the Director of Medical Toxicology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School told me in an interview.”

The Teagues have been working hard for the past five years since the passing of their beloved son to find some answers and are determined to find justice and accountability.

Let’s hope this second investigation gets them the answers they need and deserve.