SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — A pregnant street vendor was knocked to the ground after she was subjected to a racist rant from a woman in a Southern California neighborhood.
The street vendor, who is seven months pregnant, suffered bruising on her abdomen but doctors say she will be OK.
Footage of the confrontation captured the moments leading up to the attack in Simi Valley.
“I told you not to come down this street anymore and I (expletive) meant it,” the woman told the vendor. “You bring down my property values.”
The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. Monday on Torrence Street and Brandon Avenue, according to the Simi Valley Police Department.
Julie Christine Sanchez, 56, is accused of pushing the cart into the street vendor, causing her to fall. Police say Sanchez confronted the vendor, Mary, over concerns of “operating without a permit and allegedly selling unsafe food.”
In the video, Sanchez also says “get out of my neighborhood” and “speak English” before ramming the cart into Mary.
Sanchez has been arrested on battery charges.
According to her attorneys, this was not Mary’s first encounter with Sanchez – but it was the first time it turned physical.
In a press conference Friday, civil rights attorneys representing the victim announced they will be filing a lawsuit against Sanchez for the attack.
“If you’re going to be attacking people because they look different and speak a different language and you’re going to hurt them, we’re going to come after you,” attorney Humberto Guizar said.
Mary’s attorneys are also calling on police to make the case a top priority and for the FBI and DA’s office to prosecute the case as a hate crime.
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