Man threw hot coffee at McDonald's employee because order was too slow, police say

A 79-year-old man was arrested Monday after police say he threw hot coffee at a McDonald's employee in Salt Lake City after becoming upset that his order was taking too long.

A 79-year-old man was arrested Monday after police say he threw hot coffee at a McDonald's employee in Salt Lake City after becoming upset that his order was taking too long. (Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who apparently became upset because he thought his order was taking too long was arrested Monday after throwing hot coffee at a fast food employee, police said.

The alleged assault happened in the drive-thru line at McDonald's, 210 W. 500 South, about 6:45 a.m. Police say a 79-year-old man became upset over the time it was taking for his order to be completed, so he threw "two full cups of freshly brewed coffee on the victim through the drive-thru window, hitting the left side of her face and chest," according to a police booking affidavit.

Salt Lake police noted that "the coffee can get up to 220 degrees while being brewed."

The employee received only minor injuries and was not transported to a hospital. The incident was recorded on a security camera and witnessed by at least one other person.

The man was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault.

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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