Family of man stabbed on bus sues RTC

Dominique Lucas, 30, was riding an RTC bus Feb. 26 on Paradise Road when he was stabbed to death. The suspect, Aaron Cole, was arrested at the scene and indicted in March on charges of murder, assault and carrying a concealed weapon.

In a lawsuit filed Friday by Lucas’ mother and father, Shalonda Purtty and Durrell Lucas, the family accuses the commission, Keolis and the bus driver, Marvin Scott, of negligence and wrongful death.

The family is being represented by Farhan Naqvi and Paul Albright, who did not reply to requests for comment Monday.

Naqvi and Albright wrote that Cole was “violently stabbing him repeatedly, including numerous times while Dominique was laying on the floor directly next to Defendant Scott pleading for help,” according to the lawsuit.

The family said that Scott should have let Lucas escape the bus and that a safer environment should have been provided with proper training to Scott on how to do so.

At the time Lucas was killed, Cole was on parole after having served 23 years in prison in Texas for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

According to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report, Lucas and Cole began quarreling while riding a RTC bus somewhere near the intersection of Sands Avenue and Paradise Road.

After Cole made a “stabbing motion” at Lucas, Lucas ran to the front of the bus and told the bus driver he thought Cole was going to kill him, according to police.

Cole ran to the front of the bus and repeatedly stabbed Lucas, then returned to his seat, police said at the time. After Scott found a safe spot to pull over, Cole returned to Lucas and stabbed him again.

Representatives for the RTC and Keolis could not be reached for comment.

Cole is scheduled for trial in February.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.