Calgary man charged in fatal Tuesday road rage incident

A Calgary man faces manslaughter charges after a man died following a road rage incident in northeast Calgary Tuesday afternoon.

Around 12:30 p.m., police received a call from a passenger in a 2004 Chevrolet Aveo who said they were involved in a road rage incident around a number of roads in the city's northeast.

They said a 2002 GMC Sierra was driving erratically cutting in and out of their lane. They also alleged that the man flashed a knife at them from the driver's seat of his vehicle.

The 911 operator advised the occupants of the Chevrolet Aveo to disengage with the driver of the GMC Sierra, but they continued to follow him.

Eventually, the driver of the Sierra pulled over and exited his vehicle on the 6900 block of Temple Drive N.E.

Shortly thereafter, police believe the Aveo drove by and one of the occupants kicked the passenger door of the Sierra.

It's believed that the driver of the Aveo stopped his vehicle and backed into the driver of the GMC Sierra, who was hit and pushed into a tree.

The driver of the Sierra sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead on scene.

"It's just shocking," said Calgary police chief Mark Neufeld, in a Wednesday press briefing. "It's one of these situations where something starts out as innocuous as can be – I have to think the two people woke up in the morning with no intention, no idea they would ever come together today.

"They had no intention of harming anybody either way," he said, "and then all of a sudden you have something that should be a level one (incident) that happens in a big city escalate to the point where somebody ends up getting killed.

Calgary police chief Mark Neufeld addresses media members Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023 to announce that a man has been charged in a road-rage related death that took place in northeast Calgary Tuesday, Dec. 12

"The notion," Neufeld added, "that something like this can escalate like it did should be a call to all of us to say, you know, we need to be super-careful when it comes to this type of thing."

CALGARY MAN CHARGED

The driver and passenger of the Aveo were taken into custody.

Steven Allen, 34, of Calgary was charged with manslaughter. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 6.

The passenger of the Aveo was released without charges.

Following a Wednesday autopsy, the deceased was identified as 35-year-old David Mervin Berglund of Calgary.

HOW TO MANAGE ROAD RAGE

According to Patrick Keelan, a registered psychologist, it’s important to plan to try and manage your emotions while in stressful situations behind the wheel.

“Being able to manage anger in all sorts of situations is a challenge, and the road is one of those venues where it rears its ugly head,” Keelan said in an interview with CTV News.

Road rage situations can escalate as an “anger episode” which starts with a trigger – the behaviour of another driver – and how you interpret the situation can lead to a negative emotional or physical response.

In these situations, your “fight or flight” response can kick in, creating strong feelings of anger and frustration.

Whether you feel yourself getting agitated behind the wheel, or if you notice other drivers becoming angry, Keelan said it’s important to be prepared so you can manage emotions before they escalate.

You can work to desensitize yourself to those triggering situations by exposing yourself to them in your imagination.

Try to also rehearse a more constructive response to potentially stressful situations on the road.

“Very much the notion of planning it ahead of time and having that plan rehearsed, I think in both instances, would be one part of the equation,” he said.

Follow these tips to try and avoid stressful situations and manage your emotions:

• Practice relaxed breathing;
• Avoid situations that may trigger road rage;
• Try to switch your attention off the trigger;
• Work to change your appraisal of the situation; and
• Leave yourself lots of time when you hit the road, so you’re not already stressed.

Calgary Police Chief Constable Mark Neufeld encouraged drivers to call the police if they believe they have witnessed road rage behaviour.

“We know what to do in cases like that,” Neufeld said.

He added that police have noticed a “general lack of respect” and an increase in violence in the city.

“We see situations escalate where people's self-regulation or problem-solving would have kicked in, in ways it hasn't,” he said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Calgary Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, online or by downloading the P3 Tips app.

With files from CTV News Calgary’s Teri Fikowski