Arby’s manager Nguyet Le who froze to death in freezer was widow and mother of four: report

News

Of Kathianne Boniello

May 27, 2023 | 21:00

A Louisiana woman who died after she was trapped in the freezer of an Arby̵[ads1]7;s was a widowed mother of four on a temporary assignment for the fast-food chain, according to a report.

Nguyet Le, 63, was working as a general manager for Arbys, opening the eatery in New Iberia, La., about 30 minutes south of Lafayette, when she somehow got stuck inside the freezer on May 11 “and bloodied her hands while she was trying to escape or get someone’s attention, her family said in a lawsuit filed this week.

Le usually worked at a Houston Arby’s but had moved for a month at the company’s request, McClatchy News Service said. The mission in Louisiana was then expanded.

Felling is not a suspect in Le’s death, her lawyers said in a press release, noting that the temperature inside the freezer likely ranged from 5 to -20 degrees.

It is unclear how long Le was in the freezer before she was found. She died of hypothermia, and was in the freezer for so long that she “collapsed into a fetal position face down on the frozen floor,” the court papers say.

Le’s body was discovered by her son, Nguyen, who also worked at Arby’s and had moved to Louisiana with his mother.

A former employee told the family that the lock on the freezer door had been broken for months, McClatchy reported.