Friends remember fatal crash victim as passionate photographer, father

Friends are struggling to absorb the loss of an entire family of four wiped out in an alleged drunk driving crash north of Saskatoon as RCMP lay more charges against the woman who was allegedly behind the wheel.

Jordan Van de Vorst, his wife Chanda and their two young children, Miguire and Kamryn, died early Sunday after their car was struck by a jeep that tried crossing Highway 11 from Wanuskewin Road.

Jordan was a biochemist at Innovation Place. Friends said although that was his day job, he was a gifted photographer who loved to share his passion with his family. Just days before the crash, the family spend New Year’s Eve admiring the northern lights which Jordan loved to capture with his camera.

“He was a great guy. First and foremost was his personality. He would make us laugh. We’d be out shooting all night and we’d be all laughing. He always had something smart or witty to say,” said friend Colin Chatfield, co-founder of the the Aurora Hunters group in Saskatchewan.

“It was something he just loved to do. He was out all the time, whether it’s just in his backyard while his kids were playing, or coming out with us at night when he could.”

Friends of Jordan and people who knew him through his photography have been paying tribute to him online.

High school friend Brett Stevenson wrote, “My friend loved his wife and children more than anything else. They were always the first and last thing he brought up.”

“His passion was for the outdoors. His garden. His photography. He was already a gifted photographer, and he was getting better with every season.”

Chatfield said Jordan was always trying new things and recently got into extreme close-up shooting.

“We’d go out for hours at a time, just laying in the grass photographing. The snowflakes was intriguing to him.”

He said Jordan had worked tirelessly to perfect the technique and the last photo he shared online was a snowflake. The image has been widely shared on social media in memory of the family.

A GoFundMe page for the family had raised close to $5,000 as of Tuesday morning.

Late Sunday, the driver of the Jeep, 49-year-old Catherine Loye McKay, was charged with three three counts of impaired driving causing death. On Tuesday, RCMP laid an additional charge pertaining to the death of five-year-old Kamryn Van de Vorst. On Wednesday, RCMP added eight more charges. In addition to the four counts of impaired driving causing death, McKay now also faces four charges of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and four counts of impaired operation of a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level over .08 causing death.

McKay briefly appeared in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Monday morning and was remanded in custody until Thursday for a possible bail hearing.