A California man is taking legal action against McDonald’s, accusing staff of failing to intervene or call emergency services as a homeless individual fatally assaulted his wife in the drive-thru lane.
Last week, Jose Juan Rangel initiated legal proceedings in Los Angeles Superior Court, as reported by Law & Crime. The lawsuit details an incident where a “known vagrant” allegedly attacked the couple while they awaited their order at a Boyle Heights McDonald’s in March 2024.
While sitting in their vehicle, Rangel and his 58-year-old wife, Maria Vargas Luna, were confronted by Charles Cornelius Green Jr., who reportedly began assaulting Rangel through the driver’s side window. According to the lawsuit, Vargas Luna, who was partially blind, attempted to assist her husband but was violently pushed to the ground, resulting in severe head injuries.
The family shared with Fox News that during the rush to the hospital, Vargas Luna suffered a heart attack.
Maria Vargas Luna endured two heart attacks while trying to aid her husband during the assault at an LA McDonald’s in March 2024, her family recounted. (Image courtesy of ‘Fox & Friends First’)
Despite being placed on life support following her hospitalization, Vargas Luna succumbed to her injuries after several months, the lawsuit states.
“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 Vargas Luna 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 alleged attack happened in the drive-thru of a McDonald’s in Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in March 2024. (KTTTV)
The lawsuit accuses McDonald’s Corp., McDonald’s Restaurants of California Inc., McDonald’s USA LLC and the franchise operators of failing to act despite visible warning signs of danger. It alleges employees watched Green loiter and approach cars in the drive-thru for at least 10 minutes and then failed to call 911 or intervene as the assault unfolded.
“These visible warning signs required defendants to take protective action, but they did nothing,” the complaint says. “Defendants’ failure to … recognize the danger and respond before the assault occurred directly contributed to the injuries and death.”
The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s employees failed to call 911 or intervene as the assault unfolded. (iStock)
Rangel’s attorneys say the location has a long history of police calls for violent and criminal behavior, including assault and trespassing, which they say put McDonald’s on notice of the risk. The complaint asserts claims including wrongful death, negligence and premises liability, and seeks compensatory and other damages.
Green was initially charged with felony and misdemeanor battery, but prosecutors later dropped the serious count, saying surveillance video suggested Vargas Luna’s fall was accidental, FOX11 Los Angeles reported.
Green was released on his own recognizance, and the status of any misdemeanor charges is unclear.
