No charges in death of snowmobiler hit by fire truck last year: N.S. RCMP

Collingwood & District Volunteer Fire Department, in Cumberland County, N.S., is pictured on Feb. 24, 2025. (CTV Atlantic/Derek Haggett)

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia RCMP say no charges will be laid following an investigation into the death last year of a snowmobiler who was hit by a fire truck after he crashed his machine into a roadside snowbank.

The Mounties say the 28-year-old victim was receiving help at the side of the road when he was hit by the truck driven by Jerrold Cotton, then a volunteer fire chief.

The 28-year-old was injured in the collision with the truck and later died.

The Mounties say the fire truck was dispatched to the scene on Wyvern Road south of Collingwood Corner, N.S., on the evening of Feb. 21, 2025.

RCMP confirmed this week their investigation included help from the province’s Medical Examiner Service, but they said they did not find reasonable grounds to prove an offence had been committed.

Within a week of the collision, Cotton was let go from his volunteer position after municipal officials found he was not being truthful when explaining what happened after the fire truck arrived at the scene.

Cumberland County council found that Cotton had breached the municipality’s code of conduct, saying he had repeatedly claimed the truck did not hit the snowmobiler.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.