A routine shift at a McDonald’s restaurant turned horrific when a co-worker doused a 20-year-old employee with hot oil in an unprovoked attack.Jacob Smith remains in the intensive care unit for more than a week after suffering second-degree burns to his face, neck, arm and back during the May 30 accident in Yuba City, California.
Police arrested 23-year-old McDonald’s employee Jalani Bluett in connection with the attack.According to Smith’s mother, Amber Smith, her son was performing a normal task at the workplace when the accident occurred.“He was in the office getting ready to count the money when he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and he just turned around, and oil was thrown at him,” she told KCRA.Investigators have not revealed a motive, and Smith himself struggles to understand why he was targeted.“As his mother, my heart broke when he looked at me and said, ‘Why would he do this to me?’ ,” Amber Smith wrote in an online fundraiser created to help cover medical bills and living expenses while her son is unable to work.The fundraiser had nearly reached its goal of $22,000 by Sunday. She says Smith is engaged, getting married and facing a long recovery period.Amber Smith said the injuries left her son in great distress.“The pain he’s in is so excruciating that they can’t give him a level of pain medication outside of the ICU,” she said.
Doctors are working to reduce the size of the burns in hopes of avoiding skin grafts.After the assault, Bluett fled the restaurant and was later reported missing. He was “deemed to be at risk due to diagnosis and vulnerabilities.” He was found, arrested, and charged with several felony counts, including battery causing serious bodily injury.Beloit is being held without bail while investigators continue to examine what led up to the horrific accident.“I want justice. I want him to get the time he needs to serve what he did to my son,” Amber Smith said.She added, “I mean I don’t wish bad things on him. I just want him to understand that what he did — he really understands what he did — and the pain he caused my son hurts.”
