California fast food worker Bianca Palomera loses the eye that protects a boy with special needs from bullying
A brave 19-year-old Bay Area fast-food worker lost her eye after trying to stop a man from bullying a boy with special needs.
Bianca Palomera was working at the Habit Burger Grill in Antioch, California on Nov. 12 when she noticed four men harassing a special needs boy – the brother of one of her co-workers – who was waiting for her shift to end, KNTV reported.
She claimed she decided to intervene and approached one of the men and told him to stop.
“He threw threats and insults and said he was going to ‘beat him up,’ ‘why does he keep looking his way?’ That’s when I stepped in and said, ‘It’s not right what you’re doing,'” Palomera told the outlet.
The man, whose attention was now on Palomera, slapped her in the face, according to surveillance footage of the attack shared by her sister.
A brawl ensued, involving several customers. Palomera managed to extricate himself from the man, who then fled the store with the three others he arrived with, speeding away in a silver BMW, according to KNTV. Her sister said they appeared to be between the ages of 16 and 21.
“He hit me once, and my headset and glasses flew off my face,” Palomera said.
The attack took Palomera to the hospital, where she was told she was going to lose her right eye.
“As a result of the attack, she was taken to a nearby trauma center where she underwent emergency surgery,” Bianca’s sister Erika wrote in a Facebook post. “Unfortunately, she suffered irreversible injuries that cost her the complete loss of her right eye.”
The family started GoFundMe to help cover their medical expenses. As of early Sunday morning, nearly $100,000 had been donated.
The Antioch Police Department said it was investigating the incident but no arrests had been made.
The man fled the store with the three others he had arrived with and sped away in a silver BMW, according to KNTV.
The attack took Palomera to the hospital, where she was told she was going to lose her right eye.
Nearly $100,000 was raised for Palomera through GoFundMe.
Meanwhile, Palomera has slowly recovered at home. She said she has no regrets confronting the bully.
“It’s the last thing I expected out of anything,” she said. “I have no regrets that I helped and stepped in. It could have been worse for my colleague’s brother.”
Habit Burger told KNTV in a statement that they “fully support the authorities in their efforts to identify the alleged attackers.”
https://nypost.com/2022/11/20/california-fast-food-worker-bianca-palomera-loses-eye-protecting-special-needs-boy-from-bully/ California fast food worker Bianca Palomera loses the eye that protects a boy with special needs from bullying
