Late Wednesday night, Silas O'Brien had just said good-bye to his family and was on his way to an adventure to Hawaii with friends.
But early this morning, the young 21-year-old man was struck down and killed by a Ford F250 on the shoulder of 16th Avenue in Langley -- an act of suspected road rage police are investigating as a homicide.
"He was saying goodbye to all his family," said O'Brien's pastor, Ed Byskal. "That's the last thing he did, say farewell to them, not knowing what was going to take place this morning."
O'Brien and two friends were driving a Chevy Silverado alongside a Ford F250 westbound along 16th Avenue at about 2:30 a.m.
But then police and witnesses said the driver of the Ford allegedly forced the Chevy off the road, pushing the Chevy into the ditch.
The trio climbed out of the ditch and were standing on the shoulder of the road, inspecting damage to the truck, when the F250 returned and barrelled towards them.
Two of the three managed to jump out of the way. But O'Brien was hit and killed.
Thursday afternoon, friends gathered to mourn the young man, laying flowers and tributes beside the road.
"He loved God, he always wanted to do the right thing," one man told CTV News at the gathering. "He's in a better place."
Bysal said that O'Brien was a wonderful young man, who had spent the previous night saying good-bye to a large group of family and friends at a youth gathering at his church.
The two survivors didn't know the person in the truck who tried to run them down, Byskal said.
Police are now looking for a driver of a white Ford F250 pickup truck with front-end damage, and a snowmobile rack on the back.
And they're also looking for the driver of a silver Honda that stopped to check on the well-being of the three young men.
"We'd like to speak to them as well," said RCMP Cpl. Brenda Marshall.
The incident is now being investigated as a homicide.
