WINNIPEG -- A 19-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter following a fatal stabbing last summer that occurred after an alleged road rage incident.
Rahim Ahmadzai was arrested on Thursday and charged with manslaughter in connection to the death of 43-year-old Ryan Kelly Legary on July 23, 2020.
The charge has not been proven in court.
Police said the two men were not known to each other and allegedly became involved in a road rage incident in the area of Lagimodiere Boulevard and Fermor Avenue.
“The reason we chose to use that word ‘road rage,’ is because we figured that would actually exemplify exactly what happened during this incident,” said Const. Dani McKinnon. “Two people that are unknown to each other, having an issue with the other’s manner of driving, pull up at an intersection, obviously start either speaking to each other through a window, or using hand gestures, at which point, they escalated.”
The two pulled into a nearby parking lot and were involved in a verbal dispute that turned physical when police said Legary was stabbed. Legary was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Ahmadzai remains in custody.
McKinnon said Winnipeggers have several options if they experience issues with other drivers and believe a violation of the Highway Traffic Act occurred.
“You can write their licence plate down, you can go and report it to one of our stations, there’s some online reporting available,” she said. “Absolutely, do not confront anybody. We’ve seen too many things recently, there was a previous incident not too long ago as well that involved a road rage incident, and they can escalate very quickly.
“Tempers flare, people become very possessive of their vehicle, and it’s not worth it.”
