GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Jeff Dykehouse, the Grand Rapids photographer known for taking portraits of families with gravely ill children, and who was featured in an MLive and Grand Rapids Press series on justifiable homicides after he shot an intruder in his home, has been identified as the victim of a fatal crash on Wednesday.

“This is really, really tragic,” photographer Brian Kelley said. “In Grand Rapids, he was incredibly well-respected. This is a huge loss for the photo community.”

Dykehouse, 51, was killed Wednesday night while riding a bicycle north on Egypt Valley, between Three and Four Mile roads. He was struck from behind by a sport-utility vehicle driven by Steve Jones, 61, of Bitely.

Related: The Jeff Dykehouse story, Part 1: Read one man's vivid account of the night he used deadly force

Jones, jailed after the crash, has been released while Kent County prosecutors review potential charges.

RELATED: Kent County prosecutor will not charge driver in bicycle crash right away



Relatives say Jones was taking medication for vertigo at the time of the crash.

Dykehouse is an athlete, and was part of a cycling team.

He started “Emily’s Big Picture Project” as a tribute to his daughter, who died of leukemia when she was 14 months old. He provided family portraits of those with very sick children.

"That's just an example of who he truly was," Kelly said.

Dykehouse was featured in a 2012 series on justifiable homicide. In 2007, he shot and killed an intruder who broke into his studio home on South Division Avenue.

He wrote a first-person account of the incident, and talked about his life before and after the shooting.

John Agar covers crime for MLive/Grand Rapids Press E-mail John Agar: jagar@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterJAgar