By Courtney Dentch
A St. Albans bus driver was stabbed in the back Sunday by a passenger on his Brooklyn route who demanded he drive faster, but the injured man was able to wrest the blade away and fatally wound his attacker, police said.
The driver, Clinton Phillip, 33, of 190-08 117th Rd. in St. Albans, was making stops along the B60 line in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, when the passenger, Christopher Bartley, of Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn, told Phillip to go faster, a Police Department spokesman said.
When Phillip said he could not speed up the bus, Bartley became enraged and stabbed Phillip in the back with a 3-inch pocketknife, police said. Although injured, Phillip was able to fight Bartley off, take hold of the knife, and stab him in his torso, police said.
Bartley then stumbled off the bus, which had stopped at Rockaway Boulevard and Newport Avenue, and fled in a livery cab, police said. He was found outside Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.
Phillip was also taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he underwent surgery, was listed in stable condition and was expected to recover, the spokeswoman said.
His family was unavailable for comment.
About 20 other passengers on the bus fled out the back door when the incident occurred, and no one else was injured, police said. The bus runs from Williamsburg to New Lots in Brooklyn.
Phillip has been driving buses for the New York City Transit Authority for a little over a year and has maintained a spotless record, police said. A preliminary investigation showed that Phillip acted in self-defense and that he showed no wrongdoing, police said. Phillip was not expected to be charged with any crimes, a police spokesman said.
Bartley, who would have turned 32 Wednesday, did not have a prior criminal record, police said.
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
