A Canadian family drove home from Florida with a father’s dead body in their car to avoid paying US healthcare and repatriation fees, it has been reported.
Fernand Drapeau’s son and wife were stopped at the US-Canada border as they tried to enter Quebec with his corpse in the back seat.
The 87-year-old died of a heart attack during the family’s holiday, according to CTV.
Border control agents called an ambulance after stopping the family at the crossing in Hemmingford but paramedics said Drapeau had been dead for at least two days. The body showed no signs of violence.
The family said the high cost of American healthcare prompted them to head home to Ormstown, a town nine miles north of the border, before reporting his death.
The wife and son were not arrested but Quebec police have submitted a file to prosecutors and have not ruled out charges.
“We said everything we knew to police,” the dead man’s son Louis, who is aged in his 60s, told the Journal de Montreal.
It is not clear whether Drapeau died in Florida or during the 1,000-mile journey home.
A neighbour said they were surprised by his death because, even aged 87, he was active and would often be seen gardening.
