Internet Helps Street Vendor Rebuild After Man Destroys His Cart In Viral Video

The internet has come to the rescue of a Hollywood street vendor, who filmed a heated confrontation between himself and a man who pushed his food cart to the ground. A GoFundMe account has been set up, and already surpassed the goal of $1,000. Currently, the account, set up on July 24, has more than $3,000 in donations.

The now viral video, which has more than 4 million views, shows street vendor, Benjamin Ramirez, being berated by a man and woman walking a dog.

The argument apparently started after the assailant, identified as Carlos Hakas by the Huffington Post, told Ramirez he was taking up too much space on the sidewalk. The video shows Ramirez telling him he has enough room to walk around his cart.

It should be noted that the identity of the suspect has not been confirmed by Los Angeles County authorities.

The video, posted by Imelda Reyes on Facebook, shows the men arguing in Spanish, then shows Hakas try approaching Ramirez with a stun gun in his hand. However, in self defense, Ramirez quickly grabs a jar of chili powder and throws it in Hakas’ face, staining his black Guns N Roses t-shirt red.

The video, which was recorded on Ramirez’s cell phone, shows Hakas pushing over Ramirez’s food cart, sending food, spices and other debris into the street.

“He kept telling me that there was no room to walk on the sidewalk, and I said, ‘There’s plenty of room to walk around,'” Ramirez told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “I was afraid he was going to hit me with something because he came at me with something, so I grabbed my bottle of chili. I meant to throw it in his face but it landed on his chin.”

Due to the vitality behind this isolated incident, it’s safe to say the Internet is livid. Now, there’s even a Facebook “Review” account for Carlos A. Hakas, with more than 4,000 people leaving 1-star reviews on the page.

For now, Hollywood law enforcement officials have yet to officially name a suspect, but if it’s not the aforementioned Hakas, he has yet to come out and explain that he’s innocent.

This case is now under review at the office of the Los Angeles City Attorney, where it will be determined if the suspect in the video can be prosecuted for misdemeanor vandalism, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News.