Arby’s manager whose son found her frozen to death in a freezer was detained for six hours
An Arby executive who was found frozen to death in a walk-in freezer had been indoors in -10 degree conditions for at least six hours before police were called.
The four children of 63-year-old widower Nguyet Le — one of whom also worked at the restaurant and found her frozen body — are suing Arby’s over the death of their mother at a Louisiana restaurant, claiming she “clattered bloody hands at an attempt to escape’. .
The widower and her son, who are both from Houston, were temporarily transferred to the restaurant in New Iberia, according to the lawsuit, which also alleges the freezer was broken and employees often had to use a screwdriver to open it.
Le entered the store shortly after 9 a.m. on May 11 to perform opening duties, the lawsuit said. Some time between that moment and the arrival of other employees at 10:00 AM, she got stuck in the freezer.
Her body was found around 6:20 p.m., according to both an initial report from the New Iberia Police Department and a statement from her lawyer. The lawsuit only states that she was discovered “after” 10 a.m.
An Arby manager who spent more than six hours in a walk-in freezer before police were called was a widower and mother of four
According to a lawsuit, Le panicked and bloodied the freezer door in a desperate attempt to escape. Former employees have said the door to the freezer (pictured) had been bad for months and had been reported to management
This is reported by the National Weather Service, in conditions of 10 below zero, freezing begins to take effect in just 30 minutes. Hypothermia may begin to take effect soon after.
Warning signs of hypothermia include uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, disorientation, slurred speech, and drowsiness.
Prior to joining Arby’s in New Iberia, Le worked at another Arby’s restaurant in Houston, Texas, as a general manager, the lawsuit said.
In February, her supervisor asked her to take a temporary assignment and work at the Arby’s in New Iberia, Louisiana, for what the lawsuit said should have been four weeks.
Her eldest son Nguyen lived with his mother and joined her in the assignment, the lawsuit reads. That placement was extended by months.
New Iberia police wrote the day after they were discovered that they suspected there was “no foul play.”
“The preliminary report from the coroner’s office is that hypothermia was the cause of death,” the family’s lawyer, Paul Skrababenk, told local channel KATC.
“Which is horrific and that the investigating officers found a good chunk of blood on the door, so she must have been fighting to get out before she collapsed.”
A statement from the New Iberia Police Department the day after Le’s death stated that it received a report of a body in the freezer at 6:19 p.m. on May 11.
Le is pictured with her son, Nguyen, who found her frozen body and who traveled with her on the assignment to New Iberia, Louisiana, from Houston, Texas
Pictured is the Arby’s in New Iberia where the body of Le’s her son was found in the freezer. She was only supposed to stay there for four weeks, but it was extended
Also named in the complaint, filed in a Texas court, are Turbo Restaurants and Sun Holdings. Based in Texas, they own several Arby’s restaurants.
A former New Iberia Arby employee told Nguyen Le and his siblings that the latch on the restaurant’s walk-in freezer had been broken since August 2022 and that employees used a screwdriver to open and close the door.
At other times, according to the petition, a box of oil was used to hold the door open.
The family is seeking damages of at least $1 million. Her other three children are Tiffani, Nina and Trina.
They are seeking trial by jury and suing to obtain damages and relief for her death, past and future mental pain, conscious pain and suffering, loss of support, and loss of love and affection, the indictment shows.
An Arby spokesperson told the Miami Herald in a statement on May 26 that the New Iberia franchisee is “fully cooperating with local authorities in conducting their investigation” into the “tragic incident.”
Turbo Restaurants and Sun Holdings own more than 1,000 franchisees in 12 states, under the Applebee’s, Arby’s, Burger King, Golden Corral, IHOP, McAlister’s, Papa Johns, and Taco Buenos brands.