Yuba-Sutter McDonald’s worker burned in hot oil attack ‘blessed’ in hospital thank-you
The Yuba City McDonald’s employee who suffered severe burns after a co-worker allegedly threw hot cooking oil on him last month expressed gratitude to family, friends and supporters in a video message from his hospital room.
Jacob Smith displayed healing burn injuries on his face while gauze dressings covered his chest and arms as he sat in his hospital bed nearly two weeks after the May 30 attack at the Harter Parkway restaurant.
“I just want to say I’m very, very thankful to everyone who’s supported me and loved me through this process. It’s been very, very painful. Definitely one of the hardest things of my life to get through,” Jacob Smith said in a video posted to TikTok. “It was extremely difficult, but. But you guys made me feel. You made it feel easy. And all my loving family and friends who supported me, it’s made me feel a lot easier than it should be. Thank you, everyone.”
The attack at the McDonald’s on Harter Parkway and Highway 99 left Smith with burns to his face, neck, hands, shoulder and upper body. The 20-year-old is receiving specialized treatment at a Sacramento-area medical center for third-degree burns, according to the Yuba City Police Department.
Videos posted on TikTok by Smith’s fiancée and a GoFundMe campaign created by his mother have documented his recovery, showing injuries from the scalding oil across his back and arms.
“What should have been a normal day at work turned into a nightmare when a coworker assaulted him by throwing hot oil on him,” mother Amber Smith said about the assault on her son. “He now faces a long and painful recovery process that will include ongoing medical care, treatments and time away from work.”
The appeal has since raised more than $165,000 toward a $200,000 goal for medical care and lost wages as of Friday morning as Smith continues to heal. One person donated $20,000.
But Smith from his hospital room considered himself fortunate — “blessed,” he said — for the love and support he has received throughout his ordeal.
“I’m very thankful. I’m thankful for everything. Everyone blew up that Go Fund Me, and I don’t know what to do anymore, or what to think. But I am extremely blessed and I feel I’m one of the luckiest people on Earth and I thank everyone for helping me feel that way and just helping me get through this.”
The suspect in the attack, Jalani Bluett, 23, of Yuba City, allegedly fled the restaurant after the attack but was arrested May 31 by Sutter County Sheriff’s Office deputies. Bluett is being held without bail at Sutter County Jail in Yuba City, where he faces charges of mayhem, battery causing serious bodily injury, and, assault with a deadly weapon.
He was scheduled to appear Friday in Sutter Superior Court for a preliminary hearing.
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