Family Sues McDonald’s After Tragic Drive-Thru Incident
In a heartbreaking case that highlights questions of public safety and corporate responsibility, a California widower has filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s following the death of his wife after an attack in a drive-thru line. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, tells a story of love, loss, and what the family describes as preventable tragedy that shattered a 30-year marriage and left a family in mourning.
Jose Juan Rangel and his partially blind wife, 58-year-old Maria Vargas Luna, were simply waiting for their food at a Boyle Heights McDonald’s drive-thru in March 2024 when their lives changed forever. According to the lawsuit, a man identified as Charles Cornelius Green Jr., described as a “known vagrant,” approached their vehicle and began assaulting Rangel through the driver’s side window. In a desperate attempt to protect her husband, Vargas Luna intervened, only to be pushed to the ground where she suffered severe head trauma. The family reports she subsequently suffered a heart attack while being rushed to the hospital. After months on life support, Maria Vargas Luna died from her injuries, leaving behind a devastated husband and family.
The emotional toll on the family has been immense. “We’re all devastated because my father is beside himself, and he says he doesn’t want to keep living without her because she was his world,” Rangel’s daughter, Veronica Rangel, told “Fox & Friends First” in May 2024, when her mother was still on life support. “They’ve been married for 30 years, and all she did was give up her life trying to defend him, and my dad feels guilty. He feels sad. He feels angry. He feels like he’s losing his life partner, his best friend, for something that should never have happened.” The family’s pain is palpable – a husband haunted by guilt that his wife died protecting him, and children watching their father struggle with unimaginable grief over what they believe was a preventable tragedy.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the allegation that McDonald’s employees failed to take action despite clear warning signs of danger. The complaint claims that restaurant staff watched Green loiter and approach cars in the drive-thru for at least ten minutes before the attack, yet did nothing to intervene or call for emergency assistance. Even as the assault unfolded before them, the lawsuit alleges, employees still did not call 911 or attempt to help the couple. “These visible warning signs required defendants to take protective action, but they did nothing,” the complaint states. “Defendants’ failure to… recognize the danger and respond before the assault occurred directly contributed to the injuries and death.” The lawsuit names McDonald’s Corporation, McDonald’s Restaurants of California Inc., McDonald’s USA LLC, and the franchise operators as defendants.
The legal complaint goes further, suggesting that this was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern that should have put the restaurant on notice about potential dangers. According to Rangel’s attorneys, this particular McDonald’s location has a long history of police calls for violent and criminal behavior, including assault and trespassing. This history, they argue, created an obligation for the restaurant to take appropriate security measures to protect its customers. The lawsuit asserts claims including wrongful death, negligence, and premises liability, and seeks compensatory and other damages for the family’s loss.
The criminal case against Charles Cornelius Green Jr. has taken a complicated turn that has only added to the family’s distress. Initially charged with felony and misdemeanor battery, prosecutors later dropped the more serious count, explaining that surveillance video suggested Vargas Luna’s fall was accidental, according to local news reports. Green was subsequently released on his own recognizance, with the status of any remaining misdemeanor charges unclear. This legal development stands in stark contrast to the family’s understanding of events and has likely compounded their sense of injustice as they pursue their civil case against McDonald’s. As the lawsuit progresses, it will raise important questions about the responsibilities businesses have to protect customers from foreseeable harm, especially in areas with known safety concerns.
