KFC worker, 32, left in a coma after taking an overdose ‘because she was bullied by colleagues’ will have her life support turned off by heartbroken family

The family of a KFC worker who overdosed after being bullied at work announced today that they will be removing her from life support starting Monday.

Emma Price’s family say the 32-year-old overdosed on painkillers after twice complaining to her managers that she was being treated unfairly.

The KFC team leader is currently in an induced coma and her family was told by doctors on Thursday that she is brain dead.

Her family, from Basildon, Essex, said they were “devastated” by the news that Mrs Price will not recover.

They made the difficult decision to turn her off life support on July 22, three days from now.

Before she overdosed, Mrs Price told her family that she was being overworked while other staff members did nothing and that she caught them talking about her behind her back.

The young woman was told she was “causing trouble” and would often come home crying because of the stress of working overtime.

Her family said today: ‘We are devastated – the house is so quiet without her.

‘She is our angel and now she is going to become a real angel.

‘We’re going to turn off the ventilator on Monday because the doctor said she’s brain dead. The machine is too damaged.’

Emma, ​​described by her parents as a “bubbly, friendly person,” had worked at KFC for eight years when she became the victim of the alleged bullying that began in the second half of 2023.

Her mother, Samantha Day, 56, said: “Why didn’t they just listen to her? She was ignored and told she was causing a problem.

‘She tried to tell them that something was wrong. She couldn’t handle it anymore.

‘I’m angry, I want to rant and rave at her, but I can’t. It’s not fair. She doesn’t deserve this at all.

“I don’t know what was going through her mind. I don’t know what happened that morning.”

Mrs Day said: ‘David made her a lovely salad and she was so pleased with it that she took a picture and put it on Facebook.

“There were no red flags, nothing. She told me she wasn’t feeling well and I told her to go to bed early – she hadn’t slept well in months.

‘She got up at 7am on Thursday morning, walked her dog and went straight back to bed.

“We thought she was just tired from being overworked.”

Mr Price, a carer, told of the ordeal he faced when he found his daughter in her bed.

He said: ‘I went there to wake her up at 2pm in the afternoon. She was lying dead in her bed.

‘Her brother had to perform CPR – she wasn’t breathing properly and we called an ambulance.

‘The doctor came out of a trauma helicopter and told us that her pupils were stuck and unresponsive.

“They took her away and we followed them, while she was on life support the whole time.”

She was rushed to Basildon Hospital where her family visited her every day.

Emma, ​​a domestic animal lover, contacted mental health charity MIND and was scheduled to have her first appointment on July 15.

She has never had any problems with her mental health before. The day before her overdose, she came home to her parents’ house and seemed “okay.”

Ms Day explained that the alleged bullying against Ms Price escalated around Christmas time last year.

She: ‘It was just after Christmas, she told her bosses she was being bullied. They said, ‘No, you’re not, you’re just causing trouble.’

‘She said people were talking about her behind her back, and when she told her she could hear it, they said, ‘So what?’

‘She was rushed off her feet, she was doing three different parts of her job at once while the others just stood by and watched her. It would be, “Emma’s moaning again, she always moans.”

“She would come home crying and we would tell her to find another job. It wasn’t a nice work environment for her.”

Emma’s parents noticed a definite change in her since Christmas. She stayed in her room much more often and slept through the day before starting her shift.

Mrs Day added: ‘She was a bit more forgetful, like her mind was somewhere else.’

Emma’s parents say they know Emma complained to her manager about the problems at work at least twice, but nothing was done about it.

Emma’s father, David Price, 60, said he even went to the branch in Pitsea, Essex, where Emma worked, to try to get answers after making three complaints himself.

He said: ‘I went there about two or three months ago and tried to talk to them. They forbade me to go there and told Emma I wasn’t welcome there.

She said to me, ‘They don’t listen to me.’

As a result of the overdose, Emma suffered a stroke and brain damage.

She is now also paralyzed on her right side and is on a ventilator to keep breathing.

Today the family announced that they will have to stop the ventilator on Monday because she is brain dead.

Mrs Day said: ‘I think I cried so much I have no tears left.

‘We’re talking to her. She has four really good friends from work who come to visit her.

‘She opened her eyes and responded, but she’s not there.

‘We thought there was still hope because she responded to our voices, but she has partial brain damage and is paralyzed on the right side.

“We said it doesn’t matter: if she can come home, she’ll come home.”

“She is such a nice person, she will do anything for anyone. She is so good with her nieces and nephews, and she makes us laugh by winding up the dog.

“I just want people to be aware that there has to be a place you can go or someone you can talk to if you’re being bullied. Bullying in the workplace is wrong.

“We just want our daughter back.”

The family raised money through GoFundMe to make home improvements if Emma were able to return home.

They have now pledged the money to charities working on mental health, anti-bullying and for her funeral.

They are also considering suing KFC for what they see as a breach of their duty of care and holding KFC liable for Emma’s injuries.

The family was angry because KFC had said they would conduct an internal investigation, but the company had not asked any questions about Emma’s condition.

Yesterday, a KFC spokesperson said: ‘Our thoughts are with Emma and her family at this difficult time.

“It is essential for us as a company to create a work environment that is safe and inclusive for all team members.

“These allegations are taken extremely seriously and an urgent investigation into the matter is currently underway.”