Valet Driver Feted for Stopping GM Tech Center Stabbing

WARREN, MI – A valet driver who pulled out his pistol and stopped a violent stabbing at the General Motors Tech Center in Warren last week was honored Thursday as a hero whose decisive action likely saved the victim’s life.

The driver, Didarul Sarder, was honored by Mayor Jim Fouts with a proclamation citing his valor. Elegant Jewelers owner Marty Clauw gave Sarder a $1,000 gift certificate because, he said, he always wanted to honor a hero, The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and WXYZ-TV report.

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Sarder, 32, head of valet services for the Tech Center and a married father of two young children, said stepping in was “the right thing to do” and that he responded quickly after seeing two women struggling in the Tech Center lobby on the morning of Feb. 10.

The victim’s 32-year-old daugther, Chavonne Taylor, visited her mother at work, hugged her and then stabbed her multiple times with a steak knife, police said.

“Any of us — we never know when we’ll need a Didarul Sarder,” Fouts said. “Without his help, I believe the woman would’ve passed away.”

Later, Fouts told the Free Press that if he’s ever in trouble, he wants Sarder near him.

“Whatever rules there are, when someone is in need of help, you do the right thing,” Fouts said. “You just don’t worry about the consequences.”

Sarder nearly lost his job. Though he has a concealed pistol license, SP Plus, the company that employs Sarder and contracts with GM, has a no-weapons policies at the Tech Center.

GM appealed to SP Plus on Sarder’s behalf. He said he’s grateful he didn’t lose his job, but would do the same in similar circumstances.

When he returned to his job Monday, it was without the handgun, though. A condition of keeping his job is that he abide by the no-weapons policy.

Taylor is being held on an attempted murder charge, and her mother is recovering from her wounds.