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A hard week for both sides in road rage trial

Defence lawyer and relatives of alleged road rage victim speak
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Silas O'Brien's older sister Elizabeth Nowakowski read a statement on behalf of the family

Lloyd Teneycke quickly poked his head out the exit door of the New Westminster courthouse then, just as quickly, pulled it back after he spotted the waiting news cameras.

Teneycke is the brother of Brent Parent, the man charged in the March 2008 death of Silas O'Brien and he had just finished giving evidence against his brother for the prosecution.

"It's very difficult," he said at the beginning of his testimony.

After seeing the cameras, Teneycke decided against having lunch with his brother outside the courthouse, making arrangements to have take-out delivered inside where cameras are not allowed.

Eventually, Teneycke braved the gauntlet of media cameras waiting outside, holding his hand in front of his face as he did so.

The family of Silas O'Brien did not play hide-and-seek with the media, opting to walk past them every morning without speaking until Wednesday.

That was when O'Brien's older sister Elizabeth Nowakowski emerged during the same lunch break and read a short written statement on behalf of the family.

"This week has been hard and we appreciate the compassion and kindness we have been shown," she said.

"We miss our Silas so deeply. He was such a spark in our tight-knit family. Silas was taken so tragically and by such a senseless act."

The decision to speak out came after two prosecution witnesses appeared to support defence claims that the two young men in the truck with O'Brien were angry, threatening and using foul language after their vehicle ended up in the ditch following a collision with another truck.

Nowakowski did not directly address that in her remarks but did say her brother and his siblings were "taught as children to have  respect and love for one another and we were instilled with strong family values."

She went on to detail the pain and grief that resulted when her brother was hit by the truck allegedly driven by Parent and killed.

"We never imagined that our happy goodbyes with Silas on the evening of the 12th would be our last. Hours later he was so tragically struck and killed, a moment that changed our lives dramatically forever."

A few minutes later, Parent's lawyer Vincent Michaels (seen above) came outside to tell reporters that there is more to the case than simple road rage, and his client has waited a long time to give his side.

"It's a tough thing to live with for three years," Michaels said.

"It's been described as a road rage [case] in the media for all of that time. And I hope that the evidence that's starting to emerge is providing a more balanced view of what might actually have taken place."

 

 



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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