RCMP seek witnesses to van in crash that killed N.S. Mountie

A man arrested after the crash that killed a Nova Scotia Mountie in eastern New Brunswick on Tuesday has been released without charges, but RCMP are asking anyone who saw the van he was allegedly driving to come forward.

Const. Francis (Frank) Deschênes was in his marked police car when he pulled over on the Trans-Canada Highway near Memramcook to help change a flat tire on an SUV shortly after 6 p.m. AT.

Deschênes, 35, a native of Ste-Anne-de-Madawaska in northern New Brunswick, died at the scene.

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The preliminary investigation, based on interviews with several witnesses, indicates a utility van collided with his police car and the SUV in the eastbound lanes at the 480-kilometre mark, RCMP have said.

Investigators would now like to speak to any motorists who witnessed a dark blue Dodge TK 2008 cargo van with Pennsylvania licence plate ZBN 8883 travelling east on Highway 2, between Moncton and Memramcook between 5:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., spokesperson Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh said in a statement on Thursday.

No charges yet

The man allegedly driving the cargo van, who was treated in hospital and then taken into custody, has since been released on conditions imposed by the Moncton provincial court, said Rogers-Marsh.

"At this point no charges have been laid."

RCMP are not saying whether alcohol, excessive speed or distracted driving are suspected, factors that police sometimes cite before an investigation is concluded.

They have not said where the man is from.

The two people from the SUV were taken to the hospital and later released.

Anyone with any information about the collision is asked to contact the Sackville detachment at 506-364-5023.

Colleagues mourning loss

Deschênes's co-workers at the Amherst, N.S., detachment are in mourning and feeling too shaken to speak, retired RCMP member Mike Johnson told CBC News.

"For the past two and a half days there's been a lot of tears shed in that office, a lot of men hugging each other … a lot of pain," said Johnson, his voice breaking with emotion.

'He is the poster child of the RCMP for those people who might not know what it is to be an RCMP member.'- Mike Johnson, retired RCMP member

"But we're going to get through it. We're going to work and carry on the spirit of what Frank was doing."

Deschênes's colleagues and friends say as tragic as his death is, it's fitting the 12-year veteran of the force died as he lived — helping others.

"Dedicated, genuine individual. Caring, compassionate — that's who Frank was," said Johnson, who knew him both professionally and personally.

"One of the members put it I think the perfect way … he is the poster child of the RCMP for those people who might not know what it is to be an RCMP member," he said.

"He loved the work that he did … believed completely in what he was doing. Very professional.

"And he had a profound sense of right and wrong within the job, which is sometimes difficult … But Frank found it very easy to determine what was the right and what was the wrong way to go. But he always tempered that with a degree of compassion."

Deschênes "loved his family, loved his dog, loved motorcycling and loved his wife tremendously," said Johnson. "Recently married, only four months, very very tragic, but he was a kind and gentle man."

'He just wanted to help people'

"He just wanted to help people, that was his purpose," said friend and fellow motorcyclist Randy Thurber. "He was just that type of guy."

Thurber met Deschênes through the local motorcycle club, the Defenders, which does charitable work for the War Amps' child amputee program (CHAMP).

 He said he wasn't surprised "at all" that Deschênes was helping somebody out when he was killed.

But Thurber, who just went on a marathon 22-hour motorcycle ride with Deschênes from Sackville to North Carolina in July, said he had difficulty processing the news his friend was dead.

"I was out for a walk, and I came in and I thought [my wife] said, 'Frank.' I said, 'What?' She said, 'Frank passed away,' and I said, 'Not our Frank, no.' And she said, 'Yeah,'" he recounted, fighting back tears.

"We miss him."

'Great, great loss'

Deschênes "was always smiling" and "never got angry," said Thurber, who spent Thursday looking through photographs of their trip together. One in particular "really captures the essence of Frank," he said.

It's of Deschênes riding his BMW bike on the "crazy twisties" of the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, a mountain pass at the North Carolina–Tennessee state line.

"He was concentrating, he was in a deep turn and basically doing what he loved."

Deschênes was equally passionate about his job, said Thurber, noting he always wore ear plugs when he rode his bike because he had to pass regular hearing tests for work.

"He said, 'Well I love being on the highway part of it so much … I coulldn't stand not to do that the job I'm doing now, so I protect my hearing.'"

"Even having fun he was still thinking about the job."

"He was a fantastic guy. It's a great, great loss. You know, you don't get many people like that."​

Rogers-Marsh said flags on all RCMP buildings and establishments across the country will be flown at half-mast until sunset on the day of Deschênes's funeral, the details of which have not yet been released.

Members of the public can also pay their respects to Deschênes by signing books of condolence that have been set up at several locations across the province, she said.

The books will be available at these locations during normal business hours up to and including the day of the funeral:

• RCMP New Brunswick headquarters, 1445 Regent St., Fredericton.
• Codiac Regional RCMP, 520 Main St., Moncton.
• Bathurst detachment, 900 Vanier Blvd., Bathurst.
• Oromocto detachment, 4 Doyle Dr., Oromocto.
• Sackville detachment, 31 Main St., Sackville.

The books will then be presented to Deschênes's family, said Rogers-Marsh.

People can also email their messages of condolence to [email protected].

Many people have posted tributes to Deschênes on social media, including Prime Minister Jutin Trudeau and New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant.