Uber rider who coughed on driver faces jail

An Uber bully who coughed on a driver has been charged with assault and robbery after turning herself in.

Arna Kimiai, 24, who attacked her Nepalese Uber driver, Subhakar Khadka, on March 7 after he asked her to wear a mask, has been at-large for more than a week. She communicated through lawyers that she intended to turn herself to the San Francisco Police on March 11.

Finally, that’s happened, according to a police statement. Kimiai is facing charges of battery of a transit employee, first-degree robbery, and conspiracy to commit a crime, in addition to breaking COVID mandates.

“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,” Tracy McCray, head of the San Francisco police department’s robbery detail, said in a statement to VICE News on Friday.

In total, Kimiai is facing up to 20 years in prison. The charge of battery of a transit employee comes with a potential one year in prison and up to $10,000, and the first-degree robbery charge could land her in prison for 3-9 years. A sentence for Kimiai’s conspiracy to commit a crime charge holds a potential of one year in prison.