The province’s police watchdog agency says an RCMP officer was not responsible for a death related to a fatality in Antigonish County earlier this year.
At around 10:35 p.m. on April 27th, RCMP responded to a report of a man who was walking on
Highway 104, possibly into traffic. While conducting patrols of the area to search for him, an RCMP officer struck the pedestrian with their cruiser.
The investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team concluded the man was already dead when he was hit.
The agency says it’s believed the driver of an 18-wheel truck previously struck the pedestrian, but thought he had struck a deer after hearing a bang.
The next morning after hearing of the fatality on the highway the truck driver reported the incident to police. DNA collected from the grill of the truck confirmed the 18-wheeler hit the victim.