Friends of Jordan Klotz set up this memorial at a spot just metres away from where a truck Jordan was in crashed on Nighthawk Drive on Aug. 8. Photo by Paul Everest
OSOYOOS TIMES-August 12, 2009
By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times
To his friends, Jordan Jacob Klotz was the person who would always find some way to bring everyone together.
In a written message, the 17-year-old’s closest friends said “Jordan was simply an angel that everyone loved and wanted to spend their time and life with.”
“Jordan was the kid that everyone loved. No one had a reason not to; he always made you smile even when you thought it was impossible.”
Clinton Lewis and Senga Munro, two of Jordan’s closest friends, said Jordan had a deep love for his family and a passion for life.
But Clinton added that those who knew Jordan best are filled with shock and sadness now because the young man passed away on Aug. 9 after being involved in a crash on Nighthawk Drive in the early morning hours of Aug. 8.
“It makes you think how precious life is,” Clinton said, adding that he had been friends with Jordan since he was two years old.
The friends had enjoyed fishing together and their families were close.
Senga said she shared a strong connection with Jordan for the past five years and they dated on and off during that time period.
One of her favourite memories of Jordan was a “shaving cream war” about a year ago which resulted in Jordan’s house being covered in shaving cream.
Jordan’s mom, who Clinton and Senga said Jordan was inseparable from, was not amused to come home to find a sea of shaving foam throughout her house.
To find Jordan in Osoyoos, all you had to do was head to the skateboarding park next to the Sun Bowl Arena as he was an avid skateboarder and often participated in competitions, Clinton said.
He also loved dirt biking and the outdoors and worked at Osoyoos Aggregates.
Over the weekend, people who knew and loved Jordan visited a spot near 6601 Nighthawk Dr. where his friends had created a memorial complete with flowers, a teddy bear and a white, wooden cross with Jordan’s name written on it.
Friends and family left messages such as “forever loved and never forgotten” and “I love you Jordan. You’re the best. Look out for us all.”
A marker had been left on top of the cross to allow others to share their messages.
Just a dozen or so metres away towards 74th Avenue is the place where the truck Jordan was in went off the road shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 8.
Police said the vehicle was a black 1990 Nissan pickup truck and it was occupied by two people at the time it went off the road.
Neither occupant owned the vehicle, police said.
The crash brought down a power pole and sent the truck flipping down an embankment.
Investigators believe Jordan was driving the truck and was ejected from the vehicle, police said, adding that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
The truck’s second occupant, an Osoyoos man born in 1991, had left the scene to find help when RCMP members arrived at the scene. He was eventually found and taken to hospital and later released.
Police said it is believed alcohol and speed were factors in the crash, which is still under investigation.
“I heard this roar,” said Ann Menzies, who lives near the scene of the crash. “Next thing I heard was this terrible impact.”
When she went outside, Menzies couldn’t see the truck, but she said power lines were down across the road.
FortisBC said 20 to 30 people in the area were without power until 10:15 a.m. because of the crash.
The Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department was called in to keep people away from downed wires until a FortisBC crew arrived at the scene.
Neighbours said emergency crews were still working at the scene when the sun came up that morning.
By the afternoon of Aug. 9, a new utility pole had been installed at the place where the crash had happened and tire tracks from where a tow truck had pulled up the truck Jordan was in were still fresh in the road’s shoulder.
Clinton and Senga said they were at the hospital on Aug. 9 when Jordan was taken off life support.
The loss of such a great friend has been an “eye-opener” to Jordan’s circle of friends, Clinton said.
“If you needed anything, he was there for you,” he said. “He made you feel good.
“He had such a big heart.”
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