Nova Scotia RCMP held a Move Over event on Wednesday to mark exactly one year since a fellow Mountie died in the line of duty.
Const. Frank Deschênes was a 12-year veteran of the RCMP. He was killed on Sept. 12, 2017, when he stopped to help motorists change a tire on the side of a highway in Memramcook, N.B.
A utility van eventually collided with his police car and the SUV.
Deschênes was pronounced dead at the scene, while the two people in the SUV were taken to hospital and released. The driver of the van was also treated in hospital but later taken into police custody.
Vasiliy Meshko of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., later pleaded guilty to driving without care and attention. In December, he was fined $3,000, received two years’ probation and was banned from driving in New Brunswick for two years.
READ MORE: Widow of Nova Scotia Mountie killed on N.B. highway wants move-over law broadened
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Nova Scotia RCMP officers held information checkpoints across the province on Wednesday, passing out information to motorists to ensure they understand their responsibilities under the province’s Move Over law.
“(Wednesday) was a little bit more emotional for sure, putting on uniform today know what we were doing,” says Const. Bryce Haight of the RCMP.
A recent amendment, known as Frankie’s Law, included tow trucks in the list of vehicles that, when their lights are flashing, require drivers to move to the left and slow to 60 km/h.
Deschênes’ death had prompted calls for the law to be expanded in Nova Scotia as well as New Brunswick.