Family grieves for cabdriver killed in fiery Strip crash

When Michael Boldon’s son saw the aftermath of the horrific crash Thursday morning on the Strip, he immediately called his father.

He wanted to warn his dad, a cabdriver, to avoid the wreckage. But the call went to voice mail.

Not long afterward, Boldon’s son received another call — from an employee of Desert Cab company. His father had been in that charred wreckage.

“He didn’t know it was his dad,” recalled Michael Boldon’s brother, Tehran Boldon, on Friday.

Michael Boldon, 62, died about 4:30 a.m. after a Maserati heading north on Las Vegas Boulevard sped through a red light at Flamingo Road and crashed into his taxi. The cab exploded, and Boldon and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Wash., were killed.

Just before the crash, suspects in a black Range Rover had opened fire at the Maserati, fatally wounding 27-year-old Kenny Cherry with a gunshot to the chest. He was known also as rapper “Kenny Clutch.”

A passenger in Cherry’s Maserati was grazed by a bullet. Three occupants of other vehicles who crashed into the pile-up were taken to hospitals with minor to moderate injuries.

The Range Rover, with large black rims, tinted windows and paper dealer plates, fled the area, caught on Venetian surveillance video heading toward Koval Lane. Police announced a manhunt for the vehicle Thursday; as of late Friday, police said the vehicle had not been found.

It was still unclear Friday what type of gun was used and how many rounds were fired.

The names of the three people killed were confirmed by the Clark County coroner’s office late Friday.

Police said a dispute between Cherry and the occupants of the Range Rover began in the valet parking area of the Aria shortly before the shooting.

Cherry, and possibly the suspects, had been at Aria’s Haze nightclub earlier that morning.

Police haven’t said what caused the argument between the occupants of the Range Rover and Cherry.

Cherry rapped about drugs, guns and pimping in low-budget videos posted on YouTube and surrounded himself with expensive clothes and cars.

Police were investigating Cherry’s involvement in pimping, although, aside from speeding tickets, his criminal record in Clark County was clean.

But that apparently was not the case in Oakland, Calif., where Cherry grew up and still spent time.

According to an Oakland Tribune report citing police sources, Cherry had prior arrests in Oakland and in Berkeley, and he had been convicted of a gun charge in 2007.

The images of the burned taxi outside the closed Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon near Caesars Palace still haunt the Boldon family.

Tehran Boldon, 50, said his brother was the “rock” of their family. His influence could not be replaced, he said.

“They took ... they put a hole in our family that will never be filled,” he said. “He was the foundation. He was the go-to guy. He was the answer man. He was the common sense.”

Michael Boldon moved to Las Vegas about a year and a half ago from Lansing, Mich., where he had lived for six or seven years. Before that, he had lived in Detroit.

Tehran Boldon, who has been in Las Vegas for about five years, said his brother wanted to be closer to their mother, who was ailing after a stroke. Michael Boldon’s son and 3-year-old grandson also lived in Las Vegas, he said.

“His grandson was his biggest interest right now,” Tehran Boldon said.

About a month ago, Michael Boldon’s girlfriend moved to Las Vegas from Michigan, he said.

Michael Boldon had four siblings. Tehran Boldon recalled fond memories of attending a Bob Marley concert with his brother in the ’70s. Michael Boldon loved expensive cars and raced Corvettes in the ’60s and ’70s, he said.

The family was tending to his affairs Friday and wasn’t sure what to do with the body.

Tehran Boldon said it’s difficult to move forward when key questions about the death hadn’t been answered.

The family wanted to know why the taxi — which police said ran on gasoline — exploded upon impact.

“We haven’t gotten an answer,” Tehran Boldon said.

And he said he was furious with the men in the shooting who caused the crash.

They would have to answer for their crimes, he said.

“I want them to turn themselves in and put a face to this,” he said.

Sutton-Wasmund worked as a marketing representative for the Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce in the Seattle area and owned All Service Plumbing with her husband, Jimmy, according to the chamber’s website.

Her family members released a statement to Seattle television station KING 5 Friday:

“On behalf of Sandi’s family, Sandi was a loving wife, mother, daughter and sister. Her innocent and tragic loss will be felt by all of those who knew and loved her and by the community at large. Her family appreciates the outpouring of love and support, and respect for privacy shown throughout this very difficult time.”

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at
mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.