But to make his dream come true, he became an Uber driver and had to face some tough situations, he told CNN.
Khadka, 32, recently shared a 42-second dash cam video of a showdown he had with three female customers in his car. He said the dispute started over the women’s refusal to wear face masks.
San Francisco Police have identified two of the three women in the car as Arna Kimiai, 24, and Malaysia King, 24.
King has been identified as the woman in a red outfit seen on the far left in the video, while Kimiai has been identified as the woman on the far right, directly behind Khadka in the video, Adam Lobsinger, San Francisco Police officer, told CNN.
In the video, the woman identified as Kimiai takes off her face mask, takes off Khadka’s face mask, coughs in his direction and tries to take his cell phone. Meanwhile, the woman, identified as King, seen with her mask under her face, announces she has the coronavirus.
According to a statement by San Francisco Police Department, Las Vegas Police Department officers arrested King on Thursday for assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy and health and safety code violations.
Kimiai “remains outstanding at this point, but announced to San Francisco police late this afternoon through her legal counsel that she plans to turn herself in soon,” the police statement said Thursday.
SFPD said the charges against Kimiai would be made public if she is taken into custody or turns herself in.
CNN has made repeated attempts to reach King and Kimiai for comment and has heard nothing. CNN has also tried to reach Kimiai’s lawyer. It is unclear whether King currently has a lawyer.
Suspects have fled the scene
Khadka says he picked up the three women in San Francisco on Sunday, March 7 at around 12:45 p.m. He soon noticed that one of the passengers was not wearing a mask, so he stopped the ride a few minutes later, according to agent Robert Rueca. of the SFPD. Khadka told CNN that he stopped the car to allow the maskless passenger to enter a gas station and buy a mask, which she did.
But Khadka said he was tired of the mocking behavior of the passengers at the time. When the woman from the gas station returned to the car, he told the passengers that he was ending the ride – that he was going home. That announcement, he said, angered the passengers.
In the video, the woman identified as Kimiai can be seen directly behind Khadka, tearing off her mask and coughing in his direction.
“F *** the mask,” she says. Meanwhile, the woman in a red outfit, identified as king, can be heard saying, “And I got corona,” pulling her mask to her chin.
Immediately afterwards, the woman behind Khadka reaches to the front seat of the car and tries to reach for Khadka’s cell phone.
Khadka gets it back from her and says, “Don’t touch my property.”
In a statement to CNN, Uber said, “In this case, we banned all three riders and contacted Mr. Khadka to offer our support.”
Passengers must also confirm that they are wearing a mask or face cover before hailing a car. But there is no selfie requirement for passengers as it is for drivers. Uber relies on drivers and passengers to hold each other accountable.
“I believe the way I sound, the way I look, it plays a big part here,” he said.
In the video, the woman identified as Kimiai can be seen taking off his face mask and tearing one of the strings holding the mask in place, rendering it unusable.
“Now you are about to be beaten up,” says the woman identified as King.
The confrontation lasted about 15 minutes, according to Khadka.
It is not clear what happened before or after the 42 second clip. Khadka said his dash cam only records when his car is moving, and there were moments that were not recorded because he was parked and refused to drive until all the women were masked. The clip is only part of the video that Khadka gave to the SFPD.
In the end, the women left Khadka’s car, he said. But one person “reached into an open window and sprayed what is supposed to be pepper spray into the vehicle and towards the driver,” Agent Rueca said. It is unclear who did this and this moment is not captured in the 42 second video clip.
The suspects have fled the scene, according to a police report, and although an arrest has been made, the SFPD said it is still investigating the incident.
“We are pleased 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 soon,” Lt. Tracy McCray said in a police statement. “The behavior videotaped during this incident showed a heartless disregard for the safety and wellbeing of an essential service agent amid a deadly pandemic. We take this behavior very seriously in San Francisco and are committed to ensuring to ensure that justice is done in this case. ”
‘We Need Justice’
After the confrontation, Khadka contacted Uber to report the incident.
“The behavior seen in the video is awful,” said an Uber spokesperson. “As a result, the rider no longer has access to Uber. Our policy is clear: no mask, no respect, no ride.”
After documenting the incident with the authorities and Uber, Khadka said he realized his car could not be driven.
“Anyone who gets in and puts his hand in any part of the car and somehow wipes his hand on his nose, mouth or eyes, it will hurt him,” he said, referring to the pepper spray.
Khadka said he asked Uber to pay for the cost of cleaning his car and the company paid him $ 370. Uber said it gave Khadka $ 250 and other financial support, and it is up to the driver to reveal how much the company has given him.
After cleaning his car, Khadka hit the road again.
“Nobody wants to go out to work on Sunday, but I was already there,” he said. “So I tried to work, I did a few rides and I didn’t feel like I was in my right mind, so I thought about something else and driving and that’s not safe at all, so I went home.”
Khadka said he has not been on the road since last Sunday’s incident.
When the video started circulating online, Khadka wanted to share what had happened to his family in Nepal.
“They are family, they are very worried,” he said. “So I called them and I said, ‘There’s a video going out, please don’t panic, it’s just for a social cause, we need justice.’ ”
“Pandemic has affected us in the same way all over the world, it’s the same in Nepal,” he said. “Life just gets normal there, so it’s been a tough time for me, but I have to work.”
Khadka said he shared the video to help police identify the suspects.
“Once they are identified, once they are caught by the police, we will move on for justice and that’s it, that’s what I wanted,” he said.