SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The prosecutor mulling whether to file criminal charges in the case of a woman who nearly died after unknowingly drinking iced tea mixed with chemicals at a Utah restaurant says he expects to make a decision next week.
Salt Lake County Attorney Sim Gill said his team still needs more time to sift through information about how the tea Jan Harding drank on Aug. 10 at a Dickey’s Barbecue in South Jordan was laced with the heavy-duty cleaning solution.
The 67-year-old Harding was in critical condition but she is now out of the hospital and recovering. She suffered deep, ulcerated burns in her esophagus.
Authorities have said a restaurant employee unintentionally put the heavy-duty cleaner lye in a sugar bag, and another worker mistakenly mixed it into the iced-tea dispenser.
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