Winnipeg man charged in fatal stabbing of bus driver

Confrontation allegedly took place after passenger was woken up at final stop

WINNIPEG— A man who allegedly fell asleep on a bus and, when roused, refused to leave has been charged in the fatal stabbing of a transit driver.

Brian Kyle Thomas, 22, of Winnipeg is facing charges including second-degree murder, possession of a weapon and failing to comply with a probation order.

Court records show Thomas has convictions dating back to 2012 for crimes that include weapons offences, assault and robbery. He has been in and out of custody and was last on probation in November.

Police say driver Irvine Jubal Fraser had finished his route at the University of Manitoba in the early hours Tuesday. Only one passenger was left on the bus.

“This individual was asked . . . by the operator . . . many, many times to exit the bus, that (it) was the end of the route and it was time to exit,” police spokesperson Const. Jason Michalyshen said Wednesday.

He said the passenger walked to the front of the bus and the driver escorted him off. A scuffle continued outside and the driver was stabbed multiple times in the upper body.

The suspect was arrested trying to cross the frozen Red River near campus. Fraser, 58, died in hospital.

Michalyshen couldn’t say if the passenger had been sleeping or was impaired at the time.

John Callahan, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, said the passenger was with a group who had been drinking. The others got off at a different stop and left him sleeping, Callahan said.

Colleagues have described Fraser as a popular guy who planned to retire next year. Callahan and others with the union visited his widow Tuesday. He said the woman was very distraught. The couple lost a daughter a few years ago, he added.