Demi Tebow describes surviving terrifying carjacking

Former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Tebow recalls surviving a near-fatal armed carjacking situation shortly after winning a competition.

While promoting her book ‘A Crow That Lasts,’ Demi-Leigh, wife of former NFL star Tim Tebow, recounted in a recent Fox News Digital interview how she narrowly escaped a life-threatening encounter by swiftly defending herself with a powerful blow.

‘Shortly after I won Miss South Africa [March 26, 2017], about three months later, I was on my way to an event as the official Miss South Africa… And I was stopped at a red traffic light. And before I could even blink, I was surrounded by five men, by multiple men, and some of them were armed,’ said Demi-Leigh.

The men were not content to simply steal her car, instead trying to take Demi with them to another location.

‘In that traumatic situation, I knew not to go to the second destination, because whatever is about to happen somewhere downtown, in some dark alley with [maybe more people present] is not going to be better than right here: broad daylight, peak-hour traffic with hundreds of people around me,’ she said.

‘And, so, I tried to run away. I tried to get out of that vehicle. The man on my side of the vehicle grabbed me, pushed me back into the vehicle, said, ‘Get in, you’re going with us.”

Demi-Leigh admitted that reacting in the moment was instinctive, but she credited her father for insisting she take safety driving and self-defense courses.

In that moment, Demi remembered ‘a second thing’ that bought her the ‘split second’ she needed to escape her attackers.

‘The throat. It’s obviously lethal,’ she said. ‘So please don’t ever try this at home. It’s absolutely just to be used in a life-threatening situation.

‘But I punched him as hard as I could in his throat, and that bought me a split-second window of opportunity to run away.’

Demi-Leigh said that while the encounter was horrifying, what really traumatized her was the lack of urgency and nonexistent moral obligation from her fellow bystanders.

‘I remember looking over my shoulder, not knowing if I’m being chased and [about to be] shot in the back, not knowing what their intent was. I just knew that it was not good,’ she said.

 

Demi-Leigh admitted that reacting in the moment was instinctive, but she credited her father for insisting she take safety driving and self-defense courses.

Demi-Leigh added ‘the most dramatic part of that story was running up that avenue in broad daylight … Nobody would stop to help me.’

‘That moment really broke my heart and made me never want to be one of the [people behind] the many car windows that I knocked on, begging, asking, yelling for help. I want to be the one girl that eventually stopped for me … to help somebody in need.’

In a separate interview with CBS Mornings, Demi-Leigh said she ‘knocked on window after window and nobody would stop to help me.’

Finally, a brave 19-year-old girl driving an ‘old little beat up car’ didn’t hesitate to help.

‘I truly believe she changed such a big trajectory of my life because she taught me something so important, not just to lend a helping hand but to be willing to be used in any situation,’ said Demi Leigh.

‘I think so many times we can be fearful and say ‘what difference can I really make but look at the ripple affect of goodness that came from her saying ‘yes, I’m willing to help you,’ and that has enabled me to help women around the world.’

Emboldened by her near-death experience, Demi-Leigh Tebow launched her #Unbreakable Campaign focuses on equipping college students with self-defense and safety awareness skills.

The former Miss Universe shared that her connection with her husband, Tim Tebow, deepened through their shared commitment to philanthropy, particularly aiding victims of human trafficking.

The couple met in 2018 while working with Tebow’s foundation, Night to Shine, and wed in 2020 after a year-long engagement.