Road Rage Incident in Langley British Columbia results in death

LANGLEY, B.C. — The victim of an apparent deadly road-rage was a church-going man who was on his way to Hawaii for a vacation.

Silas O'Brien of Abbotsford was by his pastor as the man who was hit by a white Ford F250. He and two other men in a Chevrolet Silverado were driving along a stretch of rural road in Langley, east of Vancouver, when police believed they may have tried to pass the vehicle.

"What happened between these two vehicles is currently under investigation," said Langley RCMP Cpl. Brenda Marshall.

"However, the Silverado was forced into the ditch on 16th Avenue and white F250 proceeded to continue on its way westbound on 16th Avenue."

The three men got out of the Silverado and spoke briefly with the driver of a silver Honda who stopped to see if they were OK. Marshall said the Honda driver left and that's when the suspect pickup returned.

"These males were still standing on the side of the roadway and the truck came directly toward them," she said.

"Two of the males managed to get out of the way of the pickup truck. However, the truck did hit the third male and he sustained a fatal injury at the collision."

"We are currently looking for that vehicle. We suspect it has front end damage as well as damage to the driver's side."

The truck was modified with a flat deck to carry a snowmobile but Marshall said that distinctive feature won't necessarily make it easier to trace.

"It depends on whether this particular vehicle is from the area. There are a lot of vehicles that are modified in this day and age to accommodate recreational vehicles."

RCMP hope the driver of the Honda who spoke with the victims just before the Ford returned may have some important clues about the accident.

So far, that driver has not come forward.

"I am sure that if that driver was listening to the news or happened to hear about this incident then they would be aware that they were the person that we would be looking for."

Marshall said the two men who managed to jump out of the way of the truck are traumatized by the incident because they are long-time friends of the victim and were driving to the airport for a trip together.

"They are receiving counselling and assistance from our victim's assistance team right now. It's obviously something that will impact them for the rest of their lives."

The pastor of the church O'Brien regularly attended said the 21-year-old started going to church from a very young age.

Pastor Ed Byskal described him as the finest person you'd ever want to meet.

"So naturally it affects them (the congregation) very, very deeply," he said.

Byskal said O'Brien was a hard working, young man dedicated to his community.

Silas attended church the night before the accident and then said goodbye to his family later in the evening. He was reportedly on his way to a Seattle airport before he and his two friends headed to a Hawaiian vacation.