Canadian family drove home from Florida with dead man in back seat, police say

A border patrol agent called it “a first.” It’s not every day that a family tries to cross the border from the United States into Canada with a dead man in the back seat.

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An 87-year-old man riding with his wife and son back to Canada after a Florida trip apparently died on the return home, the Sun-Sentinel reported. However, the family decided not to alert authorities or take the man to a hospital, citing concerns with the high costs of the United States' medical system, Instead, family members kept driving toward their hometown of Ormstown, Quebec, according to several media outlets.

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Fernand Drapeau was found dead March 31 from an apparent heart attack when border agents in Hemmingford, Quebec, searched the vehicle, according to the National Post. It is not clear when Drapeau died, but paramedics called to the scene said he had been dead at least two days, CTV News reported.

"We said everything we knew to police," Drapeau's son, Louis Drapeau, told the Journal de Montréal.

Canadians can run up costly bills if they need medical care and do not have travelers insurance while visiting the United States, WBAL reported.

Autopsy results are expected soon, but police said Fernand Drapeau's body did not show any signs of violence, the National Post reported.

No charges have been filed, but police said they have not ruled out the possibility, the newspaper reported.

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