'Nightmare': Ohio man recovering after alleged assault over McDonald's sandwich

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An Ohio man is struggling to get back to normalcy after he says he was punched repeatedly by several McDonald's employees during a dispute over his Quarter Pounder in October.

Karrigan Norwood was reportedly assaulted sometime after midnight on Oct. 17 at the McDonald's on East 17th Street in Columbus.

He recently sat down with Nexstar's WCMH to talk about the experience, which he described as a "nightmare."

Norwood said he had visited the McDonald's for a late-night meal but returned to the restaurant when he realized his order, a Double Quarter Pounder with Bacon, was only a single. After getting back to the drive-thru window, however, he said he was met with hostility, so he asked for the manager.  

"[They] slammed the window in my face, then told me to come back with a better attitude," Norwood said.  

An argument ensued. The manager allegedly walked away, and that's when Norwood said the whole staff came after him.  

"Everybody in the crew — person who took my order, the fry cooks, cashiers — all went to come yelling at me at the window," he said.

Norwood said he then drove around the restaurant, so that the people waiting in line behind him could get their food. But he rejoined the drive-thru line once again to ask for a correction to his order.

When he reached the window, he said five employees exited the building and approached his vehicle.  

"Fluid was thrown in my car,” Norwood claimed. “I didn't know what it was, so when I tried to get out and call for help, that's when they dropped me and beat me. They basically, like, jumped me, like, grabbed me, pulled my shirt over my head, started punching me in the face. 

"Didn't stop until one of the other patrons in the drive-thru said they were calling the police,” Norwood added. “All this over a sandwich and it didn't need to go that far at all.” 

Norwood got back in his vehicle and called his mother on the phone. She said she couldn't figure out why he was slurring his words and talking slowly, so she rushed to the restaurant and immediately sought medical help. 

Norwood suffered a broken orbital bone on the left side of his face. His left eye was swollen shut, and he wondered if he would ever see again.   

"I had to get a titanium implant,” Norwood said a couple of weeks after his surgery. “Still got a little bit of double vision. Lens sensitive to light, so I wear glasses.” 

Norwood said he had also been planning to enlist in the military, to follow in the footsteps of his mother and father. But due to the severity of his injuries, he's now unsure if he will be able to join the military at all.  

Store cameras recorded parts of the Oct. 17 altercation as Norwood remained at the pickup window, WCMH previously reported, citing documents from Columbus police and Franklin County Municipal Court.

The documents also said one of the employees threw a drink through Norwood's window before he got out of his van, at which point the McDonald's workers began punching him in the head.

Three of the employees involved have been charged with assault, causing great bodily harm — a felony charge. Two of those men have been arrested, including one who spent 12 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. One of the men is still wanted by Columbus police. 

The charges against the three employees have been sent to a grand jury. 

Norwood's mother, meanwhile, said she is very proud of her son and worries about his future after the incident. She also questions the hiring practices of McDonald's. 

”These monsters are a threat to society," Dawn Norwood said.  

A representative for McDonald's was not immediately available to comment on the accusations.

WCMH's Adam Conn contributed to this report.