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Cab Driver Attacked By Customer With Box Cutter, Hammer Speaks Out

LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Veteran taxi driver Robbie Williams says he's lucky to be alive after he was attacked by a female passenger last month.

On Sept. 26 at 3:15 a.m., police responded to Anaheim Street and Redondo Avenue after the female suspect reached into the front of the cab, demanded money and threatened Williams with a box cutter and a hammer.

The Long Beach Police Department is now seeking the public's help to identify the woman, who was captured on the cab's security camera during the attempted robbery.

The footage shows the suspect attempting to strike Williams in the face with a hammer. Both weapons had been concealed in the woman's purse.

Williams asked for the $6.15 fare before the assault happened. He says the suspect demanded $50 from him, but he refused and attempted to disarm her, stating that he knew her parents.

The plan did not work, and he was forced to hit the accelerator, with his cab eventually crashing into a parked car. Upon turning around to locate the suspect, Williams noticed that she was gone.

He was treated at the scene and received 13 stitches in his hand.

"Thank God I'm alive," Williams told KCAL9's Melanie Woodrow. "I could have been dead!"

Authorities are now hoping the public can help them identify and locate the suspect, who is described as an African-American woman between the ages of 20 and 25. She was last seen wearing a brown knit hat and light-colored hoodie sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact Long Beach Police Robbery Det. Fermin Gonzalez at (562)570-7464. Anonymous tips can be submitted at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), by texting TIPLA plus the tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.

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