Toxic tea in Utah story has a good ending. A Utah woman by the name of Jan Harding, who accidentally consumed toxic tea while at a restaurant is recovering well and will not sue. Harding who spent three weeks in the hospital after drinking lye tea will receive a settlement from Dickey’s Barbeque.
The video of a woman sipping toxic tea in Utah has surfaced. On August 10th, Jan Harding almost lost her life during a family gathering at Dickey’s Barbeque in South Jordan, a Salt Lake City suburb.
In the surveillance video, the 67-year-old Utah mother of three could be seen getting a cup of ice tea from a self-serve tea urn. Dressed in a blue top and black skirt, the woman filled the cup and while walking back to her table she took a sip of tea.
Seconds after swallowing the tea, the Utah woman could be seen spitting it out and desperately searching for water. The woman’s husband, Jim Harding came to her aid and she told him that she believed that she may have drank acid.
The restaurant’s manager also showed up to see what was wrong when the woman started vomiting. Mrs Jan Harding was rushed to the University of Utah Hospital where doctors discovered that she had consumed toxic tea.
The ice tea was laced with lye, a highly toxic cleaning chemical that is used to remove grease from deep fryers. Surveillance video showed an employee of the restaurant putting the heavy-duty cleaner in an empty sugar bag, and hours later another worker accidentally used it in the batch of tea, which Harding consumed.
The Utah resident suffered severe burns in her mouth, throat and esophagus and was not able to speak for several days. The manager who failed to prevent the toxic tea incident has resigned.
Harding was the first and only person to drink the toxic tea. According to her husband, she is recuperating and is very thankful for all the love and support she has gotten from the community.
Jan Harding’s attorney, Paxton Guymon, explained that she will undergo tests and procedures to determine any long-term complications. District Attorney Sim Gill stated that no charges will be filed against the eatery because his office has deemed what happened to Harding, a horrible accident.
Guymon will not be suing because the owners of the restaurant will settle by the end of the year. This is not the first toxic tea incident in Utah, according to Guymon, who claimed that a staff member of the same restaurant accidentally tasted lye thinking it was sugar and burned her tongue in July.
The female worker quit her job the day after Harding drank the toxic tea. The restaurant has refused to comment on the July incident.
