Arby's Employee Froze to Death in Freezer, Bloodied Hands Trying to Escape

A family is suing Arby's after a manager became trapped in a freezer and froze to death after beating her hands bloody on the door in a failed attempt to escape.

Nguyet Le, 63, was found dead in the chain restaurant's freezer on May 11 at an Arby's in New Iberia, Louisiana. Paul Skrabanek, the family's attorney, described a horrific scene when speaking to local media.

"I think once you see the police report, you’re going to see how horrific this was and how it was described to me," said Skrabanek. "Her getting caught [in] this freezer and trying to beat on the door until her hands were bloody. There was blood all over the door, and then she collapsed into a fetal position before freezing face-first to the floor."

Le didn't work at the Arby's she died in as she was based out of Houston but was asked to go to the store to temporarily manage it. She died of hypothermia and her body was not found until the next morning.

"Tragically, the employee to find Ms. Le's body was her son, Nguyen," reads the lawsuit. "He did so after coming in for his shift at approximately 10:00 a.m."

The lawsuit filed by Le's family alleges that management knew the latch on the freezer was broken but ignored it. The lawsuit states a former employee said that a screwdriver was used to open the door and a box of oil was used to keep it open during the work day.

"Turbo Restaurants (which runs the franchise) had knowledge of an extremely dangerous condition at its restaurant since at least August 2022," reads the lawsuit. "However, they acted with conscious indifference in failing to repair the latch for nearly [nine] months."

The family is suing Arby's for alleged negligence, gross negligence, and wrongful death, and is asking for $1 million in damages.

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