Would it be possible for a choke hold, administered by a person trained in it who is also exceptionally strong, to inflict such an injury?
A "choke hold" as performed by an expert martial artist is specifically a block of the carotid artery and is the most effective way to neutralize a threat quickly (7-10 seconds). However, it is generally immediately reversible if it is released quickly and would not damage the hyoid. If you wish to kill someone, manual strangulation is perhaps more effective. Using the fingers to directly collapse the larynx, or trachea would be likely to result in a broken hyoid; the advantage being once the airway is collapsed you can continue your mission and the enemy will not be reviving. Using a garrote generally compresses both the carotid and the airway, and can also damage the hyoid.
It should not. The ‘choke hold’, if done properly, restricts the blood flow to the brain brain by compressing the sides of the neck to restrict Carotid artery flow into the brain. After about 10-15 seconds, the subject should pass out from oxygen starvation in the brain, but the airway itself and the hyroid bone should be unaffected.
With the move Sean Connery used in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER the guy was dead in 5 seconds.
Yup.