Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005 | 10:12 a.m.
A man driving a stolen Yellow Cab led police on a 45-minute chase around the valley that ended with four people injured when the cab crashed into other vehicles at the busy intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Paradise Road on Tuesday morning, Metro Police said.
The man behind the wheel of the Yellow Cab, 21-year-old Luke Einsel, was arrested by Henderson Police after being discharged from University Medical Center. He was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and is expected to face additional charges, police said.
Einsel had allegedly stolen the cab from its driver at gunpoint in Henderson near St. Rose Parkway and Bermuda Street about 9 a.m.. Police in patrol cars pursued the cab briefly before pulling back so that a police helicopter could follow the cab from the air and radio its location to officers on the ground.
After an officer was able to puncture at least one of the vehicle's tires with a "stop stick" near the airport tunnel, the chase ended at 9:49 a.m. when the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria slammed into 2003 Hyundai Tiburon, a 2001 Mazda van and a Lucky Cab on Tropicana at Paradise, police said.
The driver of the Lucky Cab, 44-year-old Wayne Sowers, was airlifted to UMC and remained in critical condition this morning, according to a UMC spokeswoman.
Richard Frazier, 42, the driver of the Mazda, and James Adams, 58, a passenger in the cab from Smyrna, Ga., were also seriously hurt and taken to Sunrise Hospital, officials said.
Jennifer Rotner, 22, the driver of the Hyundai, was not injured, Metro said.
Rob Stewart, spokesman for the Nevada Taxicab Authority, said there was a video camera inside the Yellow Cab and it will be given to the police and the Clark County District Attorneys office.
James Devita, 54, the Yellow Cab driver whose taxi was taken, said the gunman was polite up until the robbery.
"For me it was a pleasant ride all the way, then he did an about face and became something I hope I never see again," said Devita on Tuesday.
Devita, who was still shaken from the incident eight hours after it happened, said his passenger had looked deshelved but seemed calm and didn't appear agitated in any way.
"This kid made a big mistake," he said.
Devita said when his passenger pulled out the gun, he offered the carjacker money and the cab.
"I offered him the money, I offered him the car. He said, 'I don't want the money, I want the car. I'm desperate,'th" Devita said.
Devita used his cell phone to call police to report the stolen vehicle, and Metro officers found it nearby Silverado Ranch and Bermuda Street in southern Las Vegas, police said. Police attempted to stop the cab, but the driver fled, police said.
Patrol vehicles pursued the individual for a minute at most before the ground pursuit was called off because the man was driving recklessly in a heavily congested area, Metro spokesman Jose Montoya said.
"We shut down the pursuit. He was driving recklessly. He was driving over the median and going over the shoulder (of the road)," Montoya said.
As a Metro helicopter monitored the cab's path, the officer in the helicopter reported that the cab continued to be driven recklessly, going up onto sidewalks, into the dirt alongside a road, weaving in between traffic.
Officers put out stop sticks, devices to disable the cab, two or three times, Montoya said. He said the stop sticks didn't work because the man steered clear of them by driving on a median.
Metro was able to disable one tire on the cab by using the stop sticks near the McCarran International Airport tunnel, he said.
But the cab continued, and while traveling westbound on Tropicana Avenue, it ran a red light at Paradise Road, hitting the three vehicles, Metro said.
Police said Einsel resisted arrest when they tried to take him into custody so they shocked him with a Taser. He was then taken to UMC where he was treated for injuries.
A gun was found in the wrecked Yellow Cab, police said.
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