A 65-year-old laundromat worker in Oakland says she is afraid to return to work after being attacked by two customers in an incident caught on camera.
Surveillance footage shows two relatively young women physically harassing, intimidating and ultimately assaulting the older woman for almost ten minutes.
Ruth “Ruthie” Wilde said the attack was the longest eight-minute stretch of her life.
She said CBS Bay Area that she was “very scared” during the attack and remains so, especially now that the couple has been released and the misdemeanor charges (which were filed against only one of them) may be dropped.
The terrifying encounter happened on March 16, shortly after 7pm, while customers were still in the local business.
Wilde said she informed her two attackers that the last laundry cycle of the day began at 6:30 p.m., and that the laundromat – Woody’s Laundromat – closes at 8 p.m.
She gestured to a sign on the wall of the business that clearly stated the business hours.
Images showed that the two women then left the business with their clothes and drove away in a car.
However, the pair returned about 40 minutes later, around 7:40 p.m.
They told Wilde that their clothes had gone missing from a washing machine and asked for the surveillance videos to see who left with their belongings.
Wilde repeatedly said she didn’t have their clothes and didn’t have access to the company’s surveillance cameras.
Surveillance footage then showed a woman wearing a black hat grab Wilde by the neck, drag her around and push her to the ground several times.
Wilde also landed at least three punches during the attack.
The other woman, wearing a red hat and yellow shirt, was then shown pushing Wilde to the ground.
‘They hit me again and so hard that my nose bled. I saw stars and lights because they hit me so hard,” Wilde told CBS.
The footage showed the two attackers threatening to hurt several customers who intervened in the attack.
Ruthie Wilde, 65, was attacked at the laundromat in Oakland where she worked for 27 years
Robert Ma (left) said the attack on his employee should be considered elder abuse
Woody’s Laundromat and Cafe in Oakland, California was terrorized last weekend by two assailants who victimized an elderly woman
Wilde said she was “afraid they were going to kill me or hit my head against the dryer.”
After the attack, Wilde called 911 and officers responded.
Both women were arrested and released, although Oakland officers told CBS they referred to the woman in the black hat.
They declined to release the suspect’s name. The said woman will appear in court at a later date.
However, Wilde is concerned that the attacker could get away with simply paying a fine, or that her case could be dismissed.
Wilde said she is furious “at the system.”
“It’s a crime and there’s nothing they can do about it,” she said.
A full week after the attack, Wilde said her mouth still hurts.
One of the laundromat’s owners, Robert Ma, said disapprovingly that the kind of mistreatment his employee experienced “is considered a criminal offense.”
He said the violent incident should be considered a case of elder abuse.
Both women were arrested and released, although Oakland officers said they only identified the woman in the black hat (photo)
There was a sign on the wall of the business clearly stating the business hours, which Wilde showed her attackers
The elder Wilde weighs just 70 pounds — she’s been working at Woody’s for nearly three decades.
‘Everyone knows Ruthie. They love Ruthie. No one has ever had a problem with her. She’s super nice. Our regulars love her,” Mom said.
But she has not returned to work since the attack. “I’m afraid they will come back and arrest me.”