NYC hospital 'Karen' Sarah Comrie's family sets up GoFundMe
The Big Apple hospital worker accused in a viral video of hijacking a Citi Bike from a young black man has been identified by her lawyer as Sarah Comrie — who is now raising money to pay for legal bills tied to the ordeal.
Lawyer Justin Marino confirmed Thursday that it was Comrie, a Bellevue Hospital employee, who appeared in the controversial video that was posted online Saturday and has since been seen by tens of millions of social media users.
The video shows her in a heated encounter with a group of men who claimed in the footage that they paid for the bike she was on at the docking station.
Marino on Wednesday provided receipts to The Post that he says proves his client actually paid for the two-wheeler, and said in a statement Comrie got on the available bike “which no individuals were on or touching.”
The lawyer said the group of five young men then approached her and claimed the bike was theirs, and the situation quickly went haywire.
Comrie, who is six-months pregnant, was placed on leave from her job as a physician assistant by NYC Health + Hospitals this week. The woman was branded a “Karen” by social media users after the caught-on-camera moment from May 12 gained traction.
The Big Apple hospital worker accused in a viral video of hijacking a Citi Bike from a young black man has been identified as Sarah Comrie. Imposter_Edits/Twitter
Comrie’s uncle started a GoFundMe to support her. Imposter_Edits/Twitter
The GoFundMe page to help Comrie, which was sent to The Post by Marino, is pleading with people to help pay for her legal bills “to save her livelihood and her reputation.”
Started by Comrie’s uncle, the fundraiser calls the incident has “unfairly painted [Comrie] as a racist ‘Karen.’”
“The facts have since proven this is a lie, but the damage has been done,” the fundraiser states. “In fact, Sarah is a dedicated healthcare worker who is six months pregnant. She holds racial justice and equity dear, and has dedicated her life to serving NYC’s most challenged individuals.”
“She does not wish to become a cause celebre, but the legal bills to save her livelihood and her reputation obviously are mounting,” the fundraiser also stated.
The fundraiser has raised nearly $8,543 10 p.m. Thursday. The fundraiser’s goal is to hit $35,000.
Marino provided The Post a receipt that shows Comrie checking out a Citi Bike for one minute before it was re-locked at a Manhattan docking station. In a screenshot from the video provided by Marino, the same serial number from the receipt can be seen on the bike Comrie is on as she was talking with the young men.
A second receipt obtained by The Post shows Comrie checking out a second Citi Bike one minute later, which she used for her roughly 25-minute ride home after her heated run-in with the men.
Comrie purchased the Citi Bike at the center of the controversy. Imposter_Edits/Twitter
NYC Health + Hospitals acknowledged the incident twice this week, including calling the footage “disturbing” when the hospital system announced she was on leave.
The system said she would remain on leave until a review of the incident is complete.
The health system did not return two emails from The Post since the new information provided by her lawyer came to light Wednesday.
Marino also declined to address anything related to Comrie’s employment.
Source: New York Post
