Sister defends Kamloops man caught on viral road rage TikTok video

The sister of a man whose apparent act of road rage went viral on a TikTok video said the full story surrounding the incident was not disclosed to the public.

Jessica Culver said it isn’t possible to get context out of TikTok videos because they are only seconds long, show only extreme moments in a situation and never tell the full story.

“Of course my brother should have left the situation and not thrown the coffee cup,” Culver said. “But this lady was driving recklessly prior to the recording.”

Culver said the incident has been exaggerated and grossly distorted by social media, and her brother is not the monster he is being made out to be. His behaviour was triggered by PTSD from a serious accident and the seconds long video was taken way out of context.

Taylor Carver was caught on video in what appears to be an act of road rage last week, Tuesday June 28 and got an immediate reaction from the general public on his company Facebook page.

READ MORE: Viral Kamloops road rager who threw coffee cup at woman got instant reaction online

“Taylor is super passionate about his family and his fishing business,” Jessica said. “He has three young kids a wife of 10 years. He's a great guy who was pissed at a bad driver that could've endangered someone else's life. His threats to slap her were empty.”

A few years ago Taylor was the victim of a serious car accident and still copes with a lifelong injury because of it, going to physiotherapy appointments and using a knee brace.

Jessica said her brother has been sensitive to reckless driving since the accident.

“An 18 wheel truck made a left turn into his car and pushed his kneecap up into his thigh,” Jessica said. “The injury has compromised his work opportunities. It was a really bad accident and now he can be jumpy when he sees dangerous things happening on the road.”

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She said the overwhelming backlash from the public is damaging his business.

“No doubt he shouldn’t have thrown that cup but for people on social media to attack his business, that’s just heartbreaking.

“I’m not saying my brother deserves total pity but he’s not the monster everyone is making him out to be. Everyone gets pissed at other drivers sometimes.”

A police report was filed the day of the incident and the investigation is ongoing.

“On June 28, around 8:50 a.m., Kamloops RCMP received a traffic complaint at Tranquille Road and Lolo Road,” said RCMP spokesperson Const. Crystal Evelyn in an email to iNFOnews, July 5. “According to the report, a male driver threw a coffee cup from his vehicle at another vehicle, made threatening comments, and drove away.

“The male driver was accompanied by a woman. Police attempted to contact those involved.”

Taylor did not respond to requests for comment. 

"He's laying low and waiting for this to blow over," Jessica said. "Unfortunately it has damaged his business and involved him with police."

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