Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cabdriver stabbed; teen passenger arrested

A cabdriver was in critical condition Tuesday after being stabbed by a 17-year-old passenger who may have been trying to rob him, Las Vegas police said.

The 45-year-old driver, Sunny S. Kim, was taken to the hospital with wounds to his neck and back but was expected to survive, said Rob Stewart, an investigator and spokesman for the Nevada Taxicab Authority.

Kim, who has been driving a cab for three years, had picked up three passengers and dropped one of them off after 8 a.m. at Cortney Middle School on Hacienda Avenue, near Tropicana Avenue and Nellis Boulevard, police said. The 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old female stayed in the cab and requested to be dropped off at a nearby apartment, police said.

When they arrived at their location, the younger teen stabbed the cabby and then fled with the female, police said.

Shortly after the crime, all three suspects were located, police said. The male juvenile was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and attempted murder, police said. The females, both 19, were released from police custody.

Stewart said authorities believe the attack was motivated by robbery, but it is still under investigation.