A California man has been arrested in the brutal attack on a fast-food worker that caused her to lose an eye while she defended a boy with special needs, officials said on Monday.
Isaac White-Carter, 20, of San Francisco, was arrested in nearby Hayward for last month’s attack at a Habit Burger in Antioch, the Antioch Police Department said.
The victim, later identified as 19-year-old Bianca Palomera, was punched in the face multiple times and ultimately lost her right eye due to the incident, police said. Palomera was defending a boy with an intellectual disability who was allegedly being bullied by the suspect.
“It completely derailed my life. There are a lot of struggles, but I have to move around them,” she told KTVU following White-Carter’s arrest.
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White-Carter could face felony charges including mayhem and aggravated assault.
(Antioch Police Department)
White-Carter could face felony charges including mayhem and aggravated assault, according to police.
Palomera underwent emergency surgeries but doctors were unable to save her eye. She has since been given a prosthetic eye, officials and her family said.
Palomera was defending a boy with special needs who was being bullied by the suspect, police said.
(KTVU)
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Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe posted a video message on Facebook saying he would call a special meeting on Dec. 13 to bestow the key to the city to Palomera for her “heroic efforts” in defending the boy.
Doctors were unable to save Palomera’s right eye despite emergency surgery.
(Handout via KTVU)
“Bianca was doing nothing more than standing up for a kid who had special needs,” the mayor said. “In my book, Bianca is a hero.“
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Despite the challenges Palomera now faces, she told the station that she now plans on going to school to pursue a medical career.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
