21-year-old killed in crash with moose remembered as adventurous, good-hearted

Adam Vande Guchte, 21, was killed in a crash with a moose on Highway 16 west of Edmonton on Aug. 10, 2021. He was adventurous, soft spoken and loved to spend time in nature, a friend said. (Credit: Jack Guthrie)

Edmonton -

Mounties say a 21-year-old man is dead after the vehicle he was driving collided with a moose early Tuesday morning. 

Police say they responded to a collision on Highway 16 West, at Range Road 55, north of Seba Beach and about 85 kilometres west of Edmonton, around 6 a.m. 

The driver was taken by helicopter to an Edmonton-area hospital but died of his injuries.

He was identified by friends and in an online fundraiser as Adam Vande Guchte. 

"Soft spoken. He loved nature – really loved nature. Loved his dog. He was a very compassionate guy, I would say that. He spoke his mind. In a good way," his friend of nearly a decade, Jack Guthrie, recalled. 

The two met through a mutual friend in junior high school in Edmonton and remained close in high school and after. 

"One thing I loved about him was he was just kind of spontaneous. We'd ask him to go on a camping trip and within 24 hours' notice, he'd say he's in," Guthrie told CTV News Edmonton. 

Their trip to Jasper over the Canada Day long weekend was the last time Guthrie and Vande Guchte would hang out. Vande Guchte had been living in Wabamun working at a nearby golf course, so his friends in Edmonton had seen him a little less. 

Between hikes and creek swims, the group went cliff jumping at Horseshoe Lake. 

"He loved it... It's very hard going through that camera because there's some videos he took of himself," Guthrie said. 

Family told Guthrie that Vande Guchte was on his way to work the day of the crash. Police found the moose a few hundred metres away from the collision. 

His death is the second devastating tragedy for the family: Vande Guchte's step-sister, Jenny Winkler, was killed in an attack in her classroom earlier in the year. Proceeds from the fundraiser are meant to not only help cover funeral costs but also supports like therapy. 

"Her photo's already up in the living room... and now his photo's next to her. I'm trying to wrap my head around that," Guthrie commented. 

"His friends will miss him dearly and our get-togethers will never be the same without him, and mountain trips, and Laurier Park, and golf and tennis. We'll never forget him, we'll always miss him."