Trapped in the Cold: The Freezer Death of Nguyet Le at Arby’s
A real-life workplace horror story where negligence turned deadly
She didn’t die because of fire.
She didn’t die in a car accident or storm.
She died alone in a walk-in freezer, locked inside with no way out… while the world outside kept spinning.
In May 2023, Nguyet Le, a 63-year-old general manager of an Arby’s in New Iberia, Louisiana, was found frozen to death inside the restaurant’s faulty freezer.
Her body was discovered by her own son, who also worked at the location.
This wasn’t an unsolvable mystery.
It was an accident everyone saw coming.
🚪 The Broken Door No One Fixed
The Arby’s freezer door latch had been malfunctioning for at least nine months.
Employees had reported it since August 2022.
Instead of fixing it, staff improvised:
Using a screwdriver to open the door
Propping it open with a box of oil
Working around the hazard instead of addressing it
As one former employee said:
“It was just an accident waiting to happen. Everyone knew that freezer door was dangerous.”
No alarm. No backup release.
Just corporate indifference, and a door that turned into a death trap.
🧊 May 10, 2023: Nguyet’s Final Shift
That night, Nguyet stayed late to prep the store for the next day.
At some point, she stepped into the freezer… and never came out.
Trapped in sub-zero temperatures with no way to call for help, she died of hypothermia.
Her son discovered her body the next morning, frozen in a fetal position, face down on the floor. Bloody handprints marked the inside of the door—evidence of her desperate attempts to escape.
⚖️ The Lawsuit and Corporate Response
After Nguyet’s death, Arby’s corporate issued a sympathetic statement, but distanced itself from responsibility.
They pointed out that the store was owned by Turbo Restaurants, a franchise under Sun Holdings, not by Arby’s itself.
Meanwhile, Nguyet Le’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, naming:
Turbo Restaurants
Sun Holdings
Inspire Brands (Arby’s parent company)
Their claim? Gross negligence.
“This wasn’t an unpredictable accident,” said the family’s lawyer.
“It was entirely preventable.”
🚨 Workplace Negligence in the Restaurant Industry
Nguyet Le’s death is not an isolated incident.
On average, 60 people die in walk-in freezer accidents every year in the United States.
These are avoidable tragedies, caused not by oversight—but by a failure to act.
The Le family’s lawsuit underscores what many fast food and service workers already know:
Shortcuts in safety become fatal mistakes
Corporate responsibility often ends at the franchise agreement
Those on the ground are the ones who suffer most
Want the Full Story?
To hear the full tale narrated with chilling, historical detail, listen to Morbid Morsel #8: ‘Ice Cold Negligence’ now streaming on the Morbid History podcast.
🦴 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.
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