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Brother of accused testifies at road rage trial

Lloyd Teneycke says Brent Parent had no idea they'd run over Silas O'Brien until the next day
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Silas O'Brien's grandfather and father arrive at court.

Lloyd Teneycke had fallen asleep in his brother Brent Parent's truck on March 13, 2008, the night 21-year-old Silas O'Brien of Abbotsford died in an alleged road rage incident.

Teneycke said he was awakened by a "rubbing" noise and the Ford pickup truck veering.

His brother told him there had been a collision with another truck. They were heading down the 25800 block of 16 Avenue.

"Brent said the vehicle that had rubbed against him had left the road," Teneycke said.

He testified Wednesday morning at the trial of his brother, who is charged with deliberately running a Silverado off the road, then returning to run down and kill O'Brien, one of three friends who were driving to Vancouver International Airport for a vacation trip to Hawaii.

Teneycke was called as a witness for the prosecution, but he did not appear to bear his brother any animosity.

The two men appeared to chat amiably in the courthouse hallway after Teneycke testified.

He told the court that after the collision with the Silverado, his brother drove back to see if anyone was hurt, but sped away because the young men from the other truck appeared angry and aggressive.

Teneycke  said he and his brother had no idea they'd hit anyone until the next morning when they heard it on the news.

"The ground kind of came out from beneath me," Teneycke said.

"I was in shock."

Brent "turned white," he said.

They had no idea anything like that had happened when they returned to Parent's home and went for a late night soak in a  hot tub to get caught up.

"We were just joking around .. and talking shop talk."

Teneycke, a resident of Castlegar, had come to Langley on business.

His brother, who lives in Langley, took Teneycke and two friends out for dinner and drinks.

By the time he got in the truck to go back to his brother's house, Teneycke said he's had "eight or nine drinks" and was intoxicated, but "not sloppy."

He said he clearly recalls his brother slowing down to less than 40 km/h as he retuned to the scene where the other truck landed in the ditch, then two of the three people charging at the truck with their hands raised, shouting.

"It looked like they were agitated," he said.

"It looked like they were going to throw something ... [one] looked like he was either going to grab the door or kick the vehicle."

"Lets get the hell out here," Teneycke told his brother, and Parent accelerated away.

It was all over in about three seconds, he said.

The brothers concluded the Silverado occupants were okay and went back to Parent's place to unwind.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Vincent Michaels, Teneycke said he did not see anyone in front of the truck during the second brief encounter with the Silverado's occupants.

"Di you see anyone get struck by the vehicle?" Michaels asked.

"No," Teneycke said.

Earlier in the day, two witnesses contradicted previous testimony by a survivor of the crash, who insisted he and his friends did not use foul language or make threats after their truck ended up in the ditch.

The trial heard testimony from Jennifer and Bradley Lowe, Aldergrove residents who were coming home from a trip to Oregon in their silver Honda Civic, when they saw the truck in the ditch and the three young men standing by the side of the road.

Jennifer Lowe, who was driving, said she went passed the young men before her husband noticed the truck in the ditch.

They stopped and backed up and asked the three young men if anyone was hurt or needed assistance. The young men said no. The Lowes resumed their trip home.

Jennifer Lowe said that as she was driving away, she saw vehicle headlights coming towards the three young men that seemed to suddenly swerve as though to avoid someone.

Under questioning by the defence lawyer, both the Lowes said that one young man was on a cellphone, talking loudly and swearing a lot.

She confirmed that during the preliminary hearing she said that the young man "was obviously upset, pacing back and forth and yelling into the phone," she adding that he used the "f-word a few times at least."

Bradley Lowe also said that the young man on the phone was upset and swearing a lot.

He added that when he asked if anyone was hurt, a second young man said,"No, not unless we find the driver."

The husband said that when they backed up to talk to the three young men, he could see the headlights of a vehicle down the road from the overturned pickup truck. As they drove away, he said he saw the headlights approaching but could not confirm his wife's version of events.

"I could not tell for sure. I did not see them swerve."

The Lowes both described seeing a white Ford  pickup truck pull up beside them at the intersection of 16 Avenue and 264 Street. The couple said the truck turned after slowing to stop at the intersection, and did not appear to be traveling at an unusual rate of speed.

The couple contacted police the next day when they heard news reports about the fatality and that the police were looking for witnesses in a silver Honda Civic.

The trial is set to run 10 days.

Parent is expected to testify in his own defence.



Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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