READING, Pa. — A Pennsylvania taxi driver is thankful to be alive after being held at gunpoint in his own car.
A police deputy car directly behind him was in the right place at the right time to help.
Taxi cab driver Ralph Valletta told WFMZ Tuesday that a man got into his car around 4:30 p.m. Monday and pointed a gun at his head, demanding all of his money.
The scary moment was caught on surveillance video in Valletta's Reading Metro cab.
"Give me all your money, man," the robber said, pointing a gun at Valletta's head. "I need it all right now if you don't want to die."
"All hell broke loose," Valletta said. "He was screaming at me. He had his hoodie pulled down and I couldn't see anything but his eyes."
Panicked, Ely handed the robber all the money he had: $11.
Deputy Terry Ely said he noticed something may have been wrong when the traffic light cycled from red to green to red again.
"The car did not move, and it went back to red again," Ely said. "At that point, I just wanted to make sure everything was OK in the car."
Ely turned on his police lights and got out his car.
"I stood in the back to try and hear the conversation ahead of time so knew what I was getting myself into," Ely said. "At that point, I heard the driver say, 'Just please don't shoot me.'
Ely then drew his weapon and ordered the robber, later identified as Victor Martinez-Herrer, out of the cab.
Valletta can be heard on the video telling Ely he is a life saver.
"He immediately stood up, ran over to me and gave me a hug and said, 'Thank you. You're a godsend,'" Ely said.
"I told him, 'You need to go back to your station and get a cup of coffee and go home,'" Ely said. "His response was, 'I can't go home. I have bills to pay and I have calls to take.' To see someone that's just out there trying to work hard to make and to be victimized like that, my concern was all for him."
Reading Metro Taxi president Curt Stricker said he was just glad Valletta was not hurt.
Police later discovered Martinez-Herrer's weapon was a pellet gun.
18-year-old Martinez-Herrer, was charged with robbery, terroristic threats and simple assault.
He is in jail on $100,000 bail.
'Give me all your money, man... I need it all right now if you don't want to die,' a taxicab passenger tells his...
Posted by WFMZ on Tuesday, March 8, 2016
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