Las Vegas taxi driver survives chokehold robbery, warns others on the road

LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) — A local taxi cab driver is lucky to be alive after a nearly fatal run-in with a robber. For four and a half minutes, the robber had his arm around driver William Demick's throat and the entire ordeal was captured on surveillance video.

"It's horrifying!" said William Demick.

Demick said a normal Sunday night pick-up turned into a fight for his life. He picked up the robber from Caesars Palace and was headed downtown near Fremont. Demick said he remembers trying to help the man with the backseat credit card reader before he dropped him off.

"I was out for two minutes. I didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden I came back and he still had me in a stranglehold," said Demick.

The robber demanded all of the money in the cab as he held Demick in a stranglehold, not knowing Demick had just started his shift.

"He kept asking, asking, asking, asking. I kept trying to tell him but I couldn't. He had the whole trachea blocked off. I couldn't say anything," said Demick.

The cab driver said it felt like an eternity before the robber released him and took off.

"I really got scared. I felt myself fading away. I thought I was going to die," he said.

In the end, the thief made off with a meager $38.00.

"38 bucks. That's it. 38 dollars. Can you believe that? It's unbelievable," said Demick.

Demick prays this robber is caught before he strikes again.

"He could do it to another driver and actually kill somebody. Somebody actually walking around like that needs to be put away for the rest of their life," he said.

The suspect is described as a black male adult between 25 and 35-years-old with a thin mustache, standing approximately 6’2”. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and light colored shorts.

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.