VANCOUVER - Charges have been laid against a 23-year-old man in the fatal stabbing of a passenger who stepped out of a cab in Vancouver and intervened in an argument.

Kenneth Bryson Williams has been charged with second-degree murder involving the city's first homicide of 2014, on Feb. 9.

Police say a taxi driver got into an row with two men around 11 p.m., and his passenger got out of the vehicle and joined the dispute, which quickly escalated.

When police arrived, they found the victim unconscious on the sidewalk and suffering from a life-threatening stab wound.

He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries.

Williams is in custody pending his next court appearance, scheduled for Friday.