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The woman accused of killing a family of four in a horrific crash on Sunday now faces an additional charge of impaired driving causing death.
Catherine Loye McKay, 49, originally faced three counts of impaired driving causing death. Mounties added the extra charge Tuesday following the death in hospital of the family’s five-year-old girl Kamryn Van de Vorst. McKay briefly appeared in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Monday morning and was remanded in custody until Thursday for a possible bail hearing.
The Saskatoon District Sports Council, where McKay has worked for the past six months, told CKOM her position as executive director is under review in the wake of the charges.
Friends of the family are struggling to absorb the loss of an entire family of four wiped out in the crash north of Saskatoon.
Jordan Van de Vorst, his wife Chanda and their two young children, Miguire and Kamryn, died early Sunday morning 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 spent 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 experimenting with his camera and had recently got into shooting objects close-up.
“We’d go out for hours at a time, just laying in the grass photographing. The snowflake 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.
Update (01/06/16): In addition to the four counts of impaired driving causing death, Catherine 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.
