Friends and family of a father of three are struggling to understand the circumstances that led to his death.

Nicholas Enslow was cycling along Lyons Court in the middle of the night, between Oct. 1 and 2, when he was struck by a large truck, according to his former partner and mother of his children, Jessica Meek.

He died several hours later at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Some of his organs were donated.

“He saved five people’s lives,” said Meek, who had been split from Enslow for several years but still maintained a friendship.

Their children range in age from nine to 12.

Police have neither released details about the incident nor responded to requests for comment from Simcoe.com. Meek said Enslow’s mother was given few details about her son’s death other than police believe he had swerved into the path of the truck.

“She just feels there’s not enough being said,” Meek said.

Meek said the driver of the truck stayed with Enslow until the arrival of emergency services. Enslow was taken to the hospital in Collingwood, then airlifted to Toronto.

Meek said the 36-year-old man — he would have been 37 in mid October — was “a troubled” individual who had drug issues.

Meek said police have told the family the only thing he seemed to have in his possession was a prescription for pain medication.

Enslow was homeless, Meek said, and would bounce between the Out of the Cold shelter in Collingwood, living outside and crashing at the homes of friends and family.

“He’d slept in tents, if he could get a couch for the night somewhere … wherever,” Meek said. “We’re not sure why he was out that way (on Lyons Court); it could have been because he was between Collingwood and Wasaga Beach a lot.”

More troubling, Meek said, is his wallet and backpack are both missing. Enslow received Ontario Disability Support Payments and, without a bank account, would have had the cash from a cheque he had cashed a day earlier.

“He was never without his backpack,” Meek said. “There’s no doubt in my mind he wouldn’t have (lost) his backpack and wallet — (as someone who is homeless), that’s one of those things he would have kept with him constantly.”

He had pictures of himself with his children in the wallet — items that Enslow’s mother is desperate to have returned to her.

“Nick was a good, kind-hearted person,” Meek said. “He had his troubles, but he was always caring, and he would help others, even if it meant him not having.

“He was a great dad. He hadn’t been able to be in (his children’s) lives a lot lately, mostly phone calls, and he loved his mom. We’d all tried to make things better for him, but it was rough.”