Friend remembers cadet who died in vehicle incident as ‘class clown’

TORONTO – One of four officer cadets who died when his vehicle plunged into the water is remembered as an outgoing athlete who was proud of the hard work he put in at Canada’s Royal Military College.

Andrei Honciu had a way of making people feel comfortable and acted like a “well-trained class clown,” his high school friend Noah Kim said in an interview.

“He was one of those people who would make everyone laugh.”

Honciu, 22, was in the vehicle with Jack Hogarth, Broden Murphy and Andres Salek when it entered the waters surrounding the campus in Kingston, Ont. Each of the men, who were about to graduate, died early Friday.

The National Defense has released few details about the fatal incident, saying only that all four died after the single vehicle entered the waters at Point Frederick on campus around 2 a.m. An investigation is ongoing.

Hogarth was in military and strategic studies and hoped to be an officer in an armored regiment, the Defense Department said.

Murphy, a business administration student, was working to become an aerospace environment controller. Salek, a student of military and strategic studies, also wanted to be an armored officer.

Honciu also studied business administration and planned to be a logistics officer.

When Honciu returned to Toronto for the holidays, he often told his friends that studying was hard and required a lot of work, Kim said.

Honciu said so proudly, said Kim, who got the feeling his friend felt good about facing challenges.

“It was baby steps for what I eventually wanted to do in the future,” Kim said.

Kim said Honciu initially intimidated him when he first met him in math class as a new student at Northern High School in Toronto, but Honciu took the initiative to break the ice.

“We ended up chatting a lot in math class, probably chatting more than studying,” Kim said.

The pair also enjoyed playing football and soccer together, motivating each other to do better through friendly competition.

Kim said she will also remember Honciu’s affection for her little brother. After initially expressing doubts about how to act with a baby, Kim said that she accepted the new role and would share photos of the couple together during high school.

“Eventually he leaned into the side of, ‘I’m going to be the best big brother ever,'” Kim said.

“You know, it’s all very, very sweet. So you know he has a big heart.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that his heart breaks for the families and friends of the four who died, while RMC Commander Josee Kurtz said the entire university community is devastated by the loss.

A National Defense spokeswoman said details about any memorial service would be communicated based on the wishes and discretion of the families of the victims.

— By Amy Smart in Vancouver

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 2, 2022.

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