A brutal hate crime unfolded in San Francisco when a chef, featured in a Netflix series, was violently assaulted by a stranger who hurled a racial slur at her. Wendy Drew recounted the disturbing encounter to Truth Voices, describing how it began when a man walked by her outside a restaurant, accompanied by his dog, and uttered the n-word.
When Drew confronted the man about his derogatory remark, he launched into a physical attack, punching and hitting her. Drew credits her quick thinking for saving her from potentially more severe harm, as she managed to push her attacker into a nearby liquor store, where security cameras captured the assault.
The footage shows Drew shielding her head and stumbling to the ground as the man continued to beat her. Despite her injuries, Drew found the strength to declare, “You’re not getting away, and you’re going to jail for what you’ve done to me.” A customer inside the store intervened, using pepper spray on the attacker, while Drew held on to him to prevent his escape.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Irvin Rivera-Lara, was arrested and charged with assault likely to cause great bodily injury, committing a hate crime, and providing false information to a peace officer. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins later announced that Rivera-Lara would face hate crime special allegations for assault and battery charges.
Drew, who appeared in the Netflix series “You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment,” expressed satisfaction with the charges and is expected to recover from her injuries, which include a broken nose, facial cuts, and bruises.
