Maskless woman who attacked Uber driver arrested, 2nd woman to turn herself in
Subkahar Khadka believes he was harassed and mocked because he's an Asian immigrant
Malaysia King, one of the women caught on camera during an attack on a San Francisco Uber driver has been arrested while her friend, Arna Kimiai, plans to surrender to police for her role in the disturbing assault.
In the days since their March 7 encounter with Uber driver Subkahar Khadka, King and Kimiai had been wanted by San Francisco police for assault and robbery. In video of the incident, Kimiai is seen hitting the driver and is also believed to have sprayed him with pepper spray after he ended the trip when she refused to wear a mask. Kimiai even snatches Khadka’s cellphone, coughs on him, and rips off his face mask theGRIO reported.
Khadka, a 32-year-old Nepalese man, posted video of the encounter on social media. He believes he was attacked and mocked because he is a South Asian immigrant.
Read More: Uber, Lyft ban maskless rider seen hitting, coughing on driver in viral video
“If I was another complexion, I would have not gotten that treatment from them,” Khadka told a local CBS affiliate. “I never said anything bad to them, I never cursed, I was not raised that way. I don’t hit people, I am not raised that way, so they were not getting out of my car,” he said.
After making headlines this week for her ratchet behavior, Kimiai posted a video update in which she threatens to sue Uber for banning her. She ended her rant by declaring “That’s why I take Lyft.” Lyft responded to the video by banning her too.
“Although this incident did not involve the Lyft platform, the unacceptable treatment of the driver in this video compelled us to permanently remove the rider from the Lyft community,” the company said in a statement. “Driving in a pandemic is not easy. Please wear a mask, respect one another, and be a good person.”
Investigators in San Francisco worked with Las Vegas police to apprehend 24-year old King. She was arrested Thursday in Sin City and charged with assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of health and safety code, San Francisco Police said in a Facebook post.
The attorney for Kimiai, 24, told police that she plans to turn herself in.
Read More: Uber, Lyft spend big, win in California vote about drivers
“We’re glad to hear that Ms. Kimiai intends to do the right thing and turn herself in to the nearest law enforcement agency, and we hope it happens promptly,” said Lt. Tracy McCray, who heads the San Francisco Police Department’s Robbery Detail. “The behavior captured on video in this incident showed a callous disregard for the safety and wellbeing of an essential service worker in the midst of a deadly pandemic. We take this conduct very seriously in San Francisco, and we’re committed to ensuring that justice is done in this case.”
A third woman seen in the car during the melee is not wanted by authorities.
A GoFundMe was started by Cyan Banister, who was one of the first investors in Uber, and it has raised more than $64,000, surpassing the $20,000 goal to help Khadka with living expenses because he is not able to work due to the trauma.
theGRIO’s Biba Adams contributed to this report.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!
