Attack victim talks about survival

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - A Newport News taxi driver is being called a hero, after he chased down the man who attacked a woman. The woman is now telling her amazing story of survival.

Laura Barnes was attacked and robbed in her own car in a parking lot on Jefferson Avenue. She says she thought she was going to die.

There is no question about it, Barnes is a strong woman.

"You know I'm a fighter," Barnes said.

And when confronted in the face of death, she found herself using every once of strength.

"I knew he was going to kill me," Barnes added. "He kept hitting me. I kept screaming."

Barnes said she was sitting in her car, on her phone, and her window was slightly cracked.

"He just stuck his hand and the knife in the window," Barnes said.

She said her attacker forced his way into her car, and time stood still. It seemed the attack would never end.

"He just kept punching me and punching me," Barnes added. "He kept saying, 'shut up broad'."

All she could do was hope for a miracle and for her that miracle was cab driver Flynn Martinez.

"If this was my mother or wife, I wouldn't want anybody to just stand by and watch it happen to them," Martinez added.

Martinez got out of his cab and confronted the attacker. Police said he held 40-year-old Herman Leemou until they arrived.

"I told him, "Flynn, you're my hero'," Barnes said.

Barnes suffered a broken cheek and black eyes. She now hopes to pass along a message to others to prevent them from becoming victims.

"Keep your windows up and you doors locked," Barnes added. "That is the best thing to do."