Sweet tea gives Utah woman near-death experience

When Jan Harding ordered a sweet tea at a Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Salt Lake City, she probably didn't expect that it would include toxic acid.

Harding, 67, unwittingly consumed lye, which the restaurant apparently used to clean its deep fryers. One of the Dickey's employees reportedly misused lye instead of sugar when making the tea, which gave Harding chemical burns.

After the incident, Harding was sent to a local hospital's burn unit, where she was in "extremely critical condition." The Associated Press reports that Harding is "unable to talk and fighting for her life."

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"It's disturbing that this kind of toxic, poisonous material would be in the food prep area," her attorney said. "I don't know how something like that can happen."