A 20-year-old man allegedly beat a California burger-joint worker so badly that she lost an eye while trying to stop him from harassing a special-needs boy.
Isaac White-Carter of Hayward was charged Monday with felony counts of mayhem and aggravated assault causing great bodily injury, the Antioch police said on their Facebook page.
Police received calls about an assault at The Habit Burger in the San Francisco Bay area around 5:30 p.m. Nov. 12.
Bianca Palomera, 19, was working when she noticed four men harassing a special-needs boy, the brother of one of her co-workers, who was waiting until their shift ended.
She told KNTV that one of the men — later identified as White-Carter — was hurling slurs and threatening to beat up the boy because he was looking his way.
“That’s when I step in, and I said, ‘It’s not right what you’re doing,’ ” Palomera told the outlet.
Shocking surveillance video captured the moment the woman was struck during an ensuing brawl.
“He punched me once, and my headset and my glasses went flying off my face,” Palomera told KNTV.
The vicious attack caused severe injuries that led to the loss of her right eye.
“This is the last thing I would have expected out of anything,” Palomera said last month. “I don’t fully regret helping, stepping in. It could have been worse for my co-worker’s brother.”
Antioch police said it was assisted by the US Marshals Service in tracking down the suspect, who was arrested in Hayward and turned over to the local department.
Detectives will be presenting their case to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, police said.
“The members of the Antioch Police Department express their support and gratitude to the victim for helping a community member in need,” cops said.
