- Arna Kimiai surrendered herself to the police on Sunday
- Arna is out of the jail already after she posted a bail of $75,000
- Over $102,000 have been raised for Subhakar Khadka on GoFundme
- Police says it is still an active investigation despite the arrests made
Arna Kimiai (24), the maskless Uber passenger caught on video coughing on and allegedly assaulting a Nepali driver, Subhakar Khadka in San Francisco last week turned herself on Sunday (March 14th,2021). Kimiai has since been out of jail after she posted a bail of 75K bond, as reported by CBS SF Bay Area(KPIX 5).
Kimiai is the passenger caught on camera grabbing the driver’s phone, grabbing the mask and coughing on him.
According to San Fransisco Police Department, “Through her attorney, Ms. Kimiai had expressed her intention last Thursday afternoon to turn herself in, just hours after 24-year-old Malaysia King — another suspect in the same incident — was apprehended by officers from the Las Vegas Police Department. Ms. Kimiai was booked into San Francisco County Jail tonight on an arrest warrant for charges of robbery (211 PC), assault and battery (243.3 PC), conspiracy (182 PC), and violation of health and safety code (120295 H&S).”
Malaysia King (24), another passenger involved in the incident, has already been arrested by the Las Vegas Police Department, with charges of assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, and conspiracy and violation of health and safety code.
Uber Driver Subhakar Khadka (32) captured the now-viral video, which shows one the passenger coughing in Khadka’s face, ripping off his mask, and snatching his phone, all while taunting and screaming racial slurs at him. Additionally, Khadka claimed one of the women sprayed pepper spray at him.
According to the San Fransisco Police Department, Subhakar “reported that at approximately 12:45 p.m. he picked up three female passengers at San Bruno Avenue and Felton Street. The driver stopped and ended the ride a few minutes later when he realized one of the passengers was not wearing a mask in compliance with state and local public health orders for COVID-19. The driver said that he could not continue the fare unless all passengers were wearing their masks. An altercation ensued, and one of the passengers reached over the driver from the rear seat area and stole the driver’s cellphone. The victim grabbed and eventually regained possession of his phone.”
“The suspects then exited the car and another passenger reached into an open window and sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray into the vehicle towards the driver. The suspects fled the scene. SFPD’s Robbery Unit took over the investigation and identified two suspects soon after, Ms. Kimiai and Ms. King.”
Uber offered $120 to Khadka to clean his car, and released in a statement that it has banned the 3 riders. Although not affiliated with the incident, Lyft has also banned the riders from their platform, in a statement reading “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. Driving in a pandemic is not easy. Please wear a mask, respect one another, and be a good person.”
As of this writing over $102k has been raised on GoFundme for Khadka. The campaign was created by Cyan Banister, an early investor of Uber.
Arna Kimiai went on her instagram and defended herself and she plans to sue Uber. Check out the video below.
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. Driving in a pandemic is not easy. Please wear a mask, respect one another, and be a good person.
— Lyft (@lyft) March 9, 2021
Who is Arna Kimiai?
- Arna Kimiai is the passenger who is seen coughing, grabbing the phone, and snatching the mask.
- Arna Kimiai is a 24 year old of Persian descent (Iranian) and has few instagram accounts including @keepinupwforeign, @foreignskennel, and @foreignbeautybar
- She also filmed herself driving at 122 mph last year
- She and her friends also harassed the driver in Hawaii
- She is also being sued over a 2019 car crash according toTMZ. “A woman filed a civil suit against Arna last month, alleging Kimiai made an unsafe turn and struck her vehicle in L.A,” reports TMZ.
Here are some of her posts from her instagram account :-
