A municipal police officer in Quebec was on his way to return identification papers to the driver of a car he had stopped when he was rammed by a truck and killed Thursday.
"He was giving back the driver's licence, registration and insurance papers," said Quebec provincial police spokesman Louis-Philippe Ruel.
"The truck left the road and went onto the shoulder and actually hit the patrol car first and afterwards hit the officer."
Quebec provincial police say the 37-year-old officer from the Bromont police department died at the scene.
Investigators don't believe alcohol or speed were factors in the incident.
The collision happened on a stretch of highway that runs through the small community about 100 kilometres east of Montreal.
The officer was doing routine road safety checks, Mr. Ruel said.
The name of the dead officer was not immediately released pending notification of next of kin.
The man had only recently joined the Bromont police force after serving with the RCMP.