The LA Times reported that just after noon on March 7, 2021,Uber driver, Subhakar Khadka picked up three women in San Francisco California. On woman was not wearing a mask so he had to end the ride after two blocks. It is Uber policy that all passenger must wear a mask.
In a dashboard camera video widely circulated on social media, the woman coughs on the driver and curses his mask-wearing.
“And I’ve got corona!” one of the other passengers says while pulling down her face covering.
Then the mask less woman grabbed his phone which he was able to recover. She then ripped of his mask. destroying it in the process. After the women exited the car, one of them pepper-sprayed Khadka through an open window before fleeing, police said. The driver, a Nepali immigrant, told KPIX-TV that he thought he was targeted because of his race.
The Karen has been banned from the Uber app, a company spokesperson said in a statement. Lyft also barred the woman from its app, according to a tweet from the company. The maskless passenger and the other woman who lowered her mask to threaten the driver have been arrested in Las Vegas police on March 9, 2021 on suspicion of assault and battery, assault with a caustic chemical, conspiracy, and a violation of state health and safety codes. The Karen tried to defend her actions wearing a pink bra and panties on twitter.
Uber offered the driver $20 to try and clean the pepper spray out of his car’s upholstery. Cyan Banister, an activist and entrepreneur who was an early investor in Uber, started a GoFundMe account for Khadka. The fund had reached more than $94,645 in pledges as of March 14, 2021.
In a statement, the San Francisco police departments said, “We take this conduct very seriously in San Francisco, and we’re committed to ensuring that justice is done in this case.”