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Parent wants his conviction overturned

Langley man Brent Parent filed an appeal of both his sentence and conviction for the 2008 hit and run death of Silas O'Brien
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Brent Parent walks to court with his wife at New Westminster Supreme Court. In May

 

Just when the O'Brien family thought they could move on from what has been a terrible nightmare since the hit and run death of their son Silas - they now are dealing with news that Brent Parent has filed an appeal to his sentence.

Parent not only wants his sentence overturned, he wants his conviction overturned as well for the 2008 hit and run death of 21-year-old Silas O'Brien.

Parent, 43, filed with the Court of Appeal on June 4. He is currently behind bars.

It was in May, that a Supreme Court judge sentenced the Langley man to five and a half years behind bars and a 12 year driving ban.

In front of a full courtroom in New Westminster, Judge Terence Schultes said he wanted to strike a balance between the Crown's request to see Parent go away for eight years and the defense's suggestion of three to four years.

He also hoped that Parent would take advantage of anger management counselling that will be made available to him in jail.

After he was sentenced, O'Brien's father Rodger spoke to the media, saying the sentence was what he expected. Parent has 64 driving convictions and five driving suspensions. O'Brien said at the time that he didn't think Parent would appeal the sentence.

In court, Parent said he was very sorry for "ruining a lot of people's lives" but then asked that the judge not put him away for a "long time."

"We would like to put this all behind us now," said O'Brien of the court proceedings. He had hoped the sentence sent a message to Parent,

The O'Briens are suing Parent for the death of their son. That civil case has not gone through the courts yet.

In the early morning hours of March 13, 2008, O’Brien, and his two bestfriends  were on their way to a Seattle airport, looking forward to their first vacation to Hawaii.

Parent, who was driving a diesel Ford F350, became enraged when he thought that the Chevy Silverado O’Brien was riding in had deliberately flashed its high beams at him on 16 Avenue.

The judge said Parent refused to let them pass, causing the pickup carrying O'Brien and his friends off the road and into a ditch. Parent then returned to the scene, where he swerved towards the young men who were standing on the road shoulder, striking and killing O'Brien.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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