Pregnant NYC Hospital Nurse Paid for Citi Bike That Ignited Viral Spat With Black Man Captured on Video, Lawyer Claims

A white Manhattan hospital worker accused of taking a Citi Bike from a young Black man paid for the two-wheeler they were disputing over and has the receipts to prove it, her lawyer alleged while firing back at news stories portraying her as racist.

RadarOnline.com has learned that lawyer Justin Marino issued a statement on behalf of his client, revealed to be a six-months-pregnant Bellevue Hospital employee, explaining that she rented the bike first and argued the viral video captured during the incident didn't give the full picture of what happened.

He said after she wrapped up her 12-hour shift, his client picked an available bike, "which no individuals were on or touching," and paid for it through the phone app.

Marino said that as she was preparing to leave the docking station, a group of five people approached her and claimed the bike was theirs.

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"Help! Help me! Please, help me," she could be seen screaming out while mounting the Citi Bike in her hospital scrubs as the man could be heard telling her that it's not her bike. "This is my bike. It's on my account," he fired back in the video.

The woman was seen removing her hospital badge as their feud escalated, later trying to grab his phone. "Get off me! Get off me, you're hurting my fetus," she yelled out while pushing him away.

When another bystander in scrubs inquired what's wrong, she appeared to begin sobbing and he suggested she choose another bike before she removed herself.

"One or more individuals in that group physically pushed her bike (with her on it) back into the docking station, causing it to re-lock," Marino said in the written statement, claiming that one individual also blocked the bike's QR code at that point.

"This individual's arm was touching my client's pregnant stomach, a condition of which she had made them aware," he added, claiming she continued to be heckled.

Marino elaborated on how she is a dedicated hospital employee who worked through the COVID-19 pandemic, helping the city's most "challenged and diverse populations in critical condition" while also providing a receipt showing the bike was checked out and checked in within one minute to corroborate her claims.

"This is the bike in question, which demonstrates that she did not 'steal' the bike from anyone," he wrote. "The fact anyone would treat another person like this is tragic, especially a visibly pregnant woman."