Suspects In Custody; Recovering Uber Driver Grateful For Outpouring Of Support
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With two women now in police custody after a violent videotaped confrontation inside his Uber, Subhakar Khadka took to social media Monday to thank San Francisco Bay Area residents for all their love and support as he recovers from the alleged attack.
A Gofundme account set up for Khadka had grown to $96,310 as of Monday morning, well above its goal of raising $20,000 goal to help him with lost wages and legal costs.
"I would like to sincerely thank everybody for all the love and support showered upon me," Khadka said in a Youtube post. "It was an really unfortunate event last week and it has not been easy ever since and I hope nobody has to go through that. The love, support and the encouragement from this community and people all around the world has helped me to move forward and believe in humanity and justice."
He also again voiced his concern that the March 7 confrontation with Arna Kimiai and Malaysia King was racially motivated. Khadka was born in Nepal and came to the United States several years ago.
"I would like to take this moment to thank everybody who helped me get this information and video out to the public so we can fight this injustice in humanity and racism," he said.
After several days at large, Kimiai turned herself in to San Francisco police Sunday evening.
"We coordinated her surrender with Sgt. Tony Santos of SFPD so it could be handled peacefully and expeditiously," her attorney Seth Morris said in a statement. "Ms. Kimiai acted appropriately and responsibly when she found out she had a warrant for her arrest, coordinating her peaceful surrender through her legal counsel and the SFPD. We have no further comment at this time."
She was booked on an arrest warrant for charges of robbery, assault and battery, conspiracy, and violation of health and safety code.
Kimiai and King have been arrested after a confrontation with Khadka inside his Uber vehicle was captured on in-car video and has since gone viral.
Warning: Disturbing video, explicit language (Source: Subhakar Khadka)
King was in custody Sunday night in Las Vegas where she was arrested while allegedly attempting to use a fake ID to illegally withdraw funds from a bank account.
Las Vegas detectives told CBS affiliate KLAS-TV 8 that King was arrested on March 9 after she was caught, along with another man, allegedly attempting to use a fake ID to transfer money at a Bank of America branch.
ALSO READ: Read Malaysia King Las Vegas Charges
Metro Police responded to the Bank of America near Rancho Drive and Charleston Boulevard just after 3 p.m. on March 9. Once at the scene, officers detained a man — later identified as David Lewis — along with King for trying to takeover a bank account with a fake ID.
Workers reportedly notified police after immediately after noticing that the ID and bank card presented by Lewis and King were both fake.
According to the arrest document, Lewis told officers -- "he was coached by King on what to say with bank personnel to complete the transfer."
She faces charges in San Francisco that include assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery conspiracy and violation of health and safety code.
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Khadka said he had pulled over to tell the women to wear facemasks and then is heard telling the women to get out of his car. The video begins with one woman telling the driver, "F--- the masks!" and then repeatedly coughing at him.
Both Uber and Lyft have banned Kimiai in the aftermath of the incident.
Uber also issued a statement thanking the police department after the arrests were announced.
"We thank the San Francisco Police Department for their swift action. Uber does not tolerate racism or hate in any form, against any community. When one community is being attacked, we are all being attacked. We are shocked and saddened by the recent increase in anti-Asian hate, particularly when it affects a driver or rider. In this case, we have banned all three riders and have been in contact with Mr. Khadka to offer our support," the Uber statement said.
Kimiai also posted video from her perspective behind Khadka where she claims he tried to get her and her friends to exit his car while on the freeway.
Her Instagram account @keepinupwforeign posted a series of videos that appeared to precede the incident, but the account has since been made private.
While the arrests have been made, SFPD officers said the case remains an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
