HOUSTON – Haronisha Alexander, 19, said she threw a bottle out her window when she was in a car in the drive-thru at the Taco Bell on the South Loop at Main at about 3 p.m. June 1.
Alexander said the manager was not pleased.
“He wanted me to pick it up. And I told him 'no,'" Alexander said.
She said the manager threw a drink at her and spit on her. But the manager told police that he gave Alexander and her friends their money back and told them to leave.
Alexander told a different story. She said when she and her group went inside, an employee stabbed one of her friends.
"Once my boyfriend opened the door, they just threw hot grease,” Alexander said.
She said her boyfriend, 17-year-old Johnson Moore, was in the hospital with burns on over 70 percent of his body with surgery scheduled for Thursday.
However, employees told police that four people came inside, one man punched an employee, another broke a window and all four threw chairs in the restaurant.
Community activist, Quanell X said, “Got into a separate argument again and then they doused her with boiling grease 45 minutes later after the initial incident where her boyfriend was doused with boiling grease."
Police said that second incident was about five hours after the first.
Alexander said she returned to give police more information. However police said she broke a window and broke part of the drive-thru trying to get inside the locked business.
Police said an employee then dumped hot grease on Alexander trying to get her to go away. Alexander had visible bandages on her neck and arm Wednesday afternoon.
"It's just really messed up that they would get grease out of the deep fryer and throw it on us. Can you imagine how hot that is? You couldn't imagine the pain that we went through," Alexander said.
Taco Bell released a statement, “The safety of our employees and customers is our top priority and we are very upset this happened in our restaurant. We are cooperating with the Houston police in their investigation and are in process of filing charges and property damage complaints with them. This was a traumatic incident for our employees and we are supporting them by offering counseling.”
Houston police said the investigation is continuing.