The man accused of killing former Yukoner Silas O'Brien in a deadly act of road rage is finally facing criminal charges.

They were filed 10 months after a driver left the scene where O'Brien's lifeless body lay in Langley, B.C.

On the morning of last March 13, O'Brien, who was born in the Yukon, and two friends were driving down a rural road. They were on their way to the Seattle airport to meet their families for a Hawaiian vacation.

The three, driving a silver Chevrolet truck, attempted to pass a white Ford pickup driving ahead of them.

The driver of the Ford wouldn't let them pass and eventually forced the Chevy into the ditch at the side of the road.

According to police who arrived on the scene and questioned the surviving members of O'Brien's party, the three men got out of their vehicle to see if there was any damage, and the Ford returned.

The driver allegedly aimed his truck at the three and stepped on the gas.

Sam Dooley and Luke Stevens managed to jump out of the way. The 21-year-old O'Brien was struck and killed. The driver sped away.

Brent Donald Parent, 40, was arrested shortly afterward, but released without charges being laid.

The investigation into the incident was quickly taken over by B.C.'s integrated homicide investigation team based on the evidence given by Dooley and Stevens, B.C. RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr said in an interview today.

The ensuing investigation was a complicated one, Carr said, involving several experts and a substantial amount of laboratory work.

"It's not that the lab results take forever," Carr said of the 10-month gap between O'Brien's death and the laying of charges against Parent, "but there are a lot of cases, and frankly, the lab decided this could wait because there was no risk to the public."

Carr said crimes such as sexual assault or ones committed by repeat offenders take priority in the lab.

Because Parent had no previous criminal record and was not deemed a threat to public safety, the case was likely lower on the priority scale, Carr said.

After the RCMP had completed the file and passed it on to Crown counsel, it was sent back for more information.

On Wednesday morning, B.C.'s Crown prosecutor swore the charges against Parent. He willingly turned himself into Langley police at 9:20 a.m., Carr said, and was later released.

The Langley man is charged with criminal negligence causing death, dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving, failure to stop, and failure to stop and offer assistance.

The charge of criminal negligence causing death carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Parent does not have any driving restrictions placed on him, in spite of the charges.

"Unfortunately, with the charges that he has now, there's nothing that we have in a law to support (driving prohibitions)," Carr said.

"My understanding is that he had previous speeding tickets and driving infractions but no criminal record. That would have played a part in why he wasn't held in custody."

The B.C. talk radio airwaves were aflame Wednesday with people calling on the Crown to press murder, or at the very least manslaughter, charges.

"People are saying that the Crown didn't do their job," Carr reported.

"Frankly, I disagree with that sentiment. Criminal negligence causing death is one of the most serious charges in the Criminal Code, over and above murder.

"Some people were calling for a charge of manslaughter, but criminal negligence actually carries a higher sentence."

In fact, both charges, if proved beyond a reasonable doubt, carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. However, both charges generally bear a sentence of between 18 months, on the low end, and four years, at the maximum.

In order for a first- or second-degree murder charge to stick, the Crown would have to prove that Parent fully intended to kill O'Brien, whereas a conviction for criminal negligence causing death requires no proof of premeditation or intention.

Parent will appear in the Surrey Provincial Courthouse on Jan. 30.

O'Brien left the Yukon at the age of nine, but still has family members in the territory.