Bus attack prompts offer to raise cash for car

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This article was published 03/01/2023 (1010 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman is so concerned about an attack on a self-employed man on a city bus that she wants to help him raise money to buy a car.

Deanna Lennox, who runs a marketing business, said she feels compelled to help Terry Morton, a 34-year-old man who uses buses to get from one snow-clearing job to the next.

“Everybody was talking about it (on social media). Somebody said like, ‘Oh, you need to get a (vehicle co-op) membership.’ Somebody suggested one. Better yet, let’s raise money to buy him a car,” said Lennox, 39.

“I think Winnipeggers would be on board with it.”

Morton was on a Route 55 bus on northbound St. Anne’s Road on the evening of Dec. 27. He had a shovel and ice scraper after clearing the snow from a client’s driveway. He told a group of riders to keep their conversation quiet.

That led to a fight with one member of the group, before a second suspect pulled out a machete.

The driver stopped the bus near the intersection of St. Anne’s Road and Fermor Avenue, Morton said, where other passengers fled.

Morton, who was bruised and cut in the skirmish, disarmed the man and, with the help of a second passenger, got him and the weapon off the bus.

Lennox said Tuesday she plans to set up an online fundraiser once she works out the details with Morton to ensure he gets any cash collected.

“I felt sorry for the guy. He’s trying to make an honest living and he can’t even do it because… there’s so much crime,” Lennox said.

She said residential snow removal would be a difficult task without a vehicle of one’s own.

“That would make my day — complete strangers helping me out,” Morton said when told about Lennox’s offer.

“It would change my life around big time. I would be able to get to work early and faster and safer.”

As he rode the bus on Tuesday, he was wary.

“I was very protective of surroundings, who was on the bus. I sat near the driver,” Morton said. “All I can recommend for people is be very careful of who you say stuff to on the bus.”

Winnipeg police said they arrested a suspect in the bus incident. A machete and sheath were seized, police said last week.

The accused was to be charged with assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon. He was released on an undertaking.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera