Zaxby’s worker gets doused in hot grease during co-worker’s attack, SC cops say
A Zaxby’s employee was doused in hot grease when a co-worker unleashed an attack at a South Carolina fast-food restaurant, officials said.
The attack sent the injured worker to a burn center with “skin missing on his face, eye, hands, shoulder, and back,” the Walhalla Police Department said in an incident report.
Now, the man accused of hurling the grease at his co-worker is facing multiple charges. Police in their report didn’t list attorney information for the man, identified as 49-year-old Thomas Lamar Cobb.
“The safety and well-being of all our employees and guests is our highest priority,” a spokesperson for We’ll Holler, Inc., doing business as Zaxby’s, told McClatchy News on Feb. 24 in an emailed statement. “We are currently cooperating fully with local law enforcement after last week’s incident at our Blue Ridge Boulevard location in Walhalla.”
“At the moment, we are not able to comment further as this is an ongoing investigation. The restaurant remains open and fully operational at this time.”
The case dates to Feb. 17, when Walhalla officers reportedly were called to a fight at the chicken restaurant’s location on Blue Ridge Boulevard, roughly 45 miles west of Greenville.
Police said Cobb told them he was drinking at work and started arguing with a co-worker. He said he tossed something at another person but didn’t know the substance was hot, according to the report.
Cobb is accused of throwing hot grease in a co-worker’s face, causing serious injuries. He also grabbed another worker by the throat and hit a third colleague, according to police.
Officers said Cobb was taken to the Oconee County jail. He was charged with high and aggravated assault and battery as well as two counts of third-degree assault and battery.
This story was originally published February 23, 2023 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Zaxby’s worker gets doused in hot grease during co-worker’s attack, SC cops say."
