‘Mommy my hand!’ Hot Little Caesar’s pizza sends Georgia toddler to emergency room
A routine trip to pick up a “Hot n Ready Pizza” from Little Caesar’s ended with a blood-curdling scream and a frantic trip to the emergency room for a Lawrenceville, Ga., toddler on October 13.
Koddi Dunn’s 2-year-old daughter Jordyn had been sitting in her car seat when one of her brothers grabbed a slice of pizza and accidentally dropped a glop of sauce and cheese onto her hand and leg, WXIA reported.
“Suddenly, this piercing scream came from my baby girl,” the 40-year-old mom told Yahoo Lifestyle. The sauce was so hot, her daughter’s flesh began to burn and blister.
“We immediately pulled our car over to the side of the road and grabbed her from her car seat. It took all of 30 seconds. In that small amount of time, she continued to cry uncontrollably and said, ‘Mommy my hand!’ ” Dunn said, according to WXIA.
The girl was taken to the hospital, where doctors treated her and wrapped her burns in gauze, Yahoo Life style reported.
“I am so upset!! The Manager said they took it straight from the oven & gave it to us ... Hot and ready should not lead to a referral to a burn center,” Dunn wrote on Facebook the day of the injury. “Pray for Jordyn and her parents because I am trying to be cool but this is not okay! Why are you handing out food this HOT!!!!!”
Photos show Jordyn’s hand with bulbous, angry-looking blisters. First-degree burns usually don’t blister, while second-degree burns do. Third-degree burns often destroy deep tissues and can cause permanent, serious damage.
Dunn said she called the restaurant and was told they were given the pizza right out of the oven because the restaurant was too “backed up” to let it cool down in the warmer first, Yahoo Lifestyle reported.
Dunn said she’d gone to the restaurant many times before and knew the pizza was hot, but that this was extraordinary and there should have been a warning, WXIA reported.
“The box had heat, and as always my customary warning to my sons to be careful was given. But even still, there is no way anyone could have known what was happening inside the box until a drop from a slice fell on my child,” she said, according to the station.
In a statement to Fox News and other outlets, Little Caesar’s sent its condolences to Jordyn and the family, but said the employees didn’t do anything wrong.
“The safety of our customers and employees is our highest priority. We are aware of this unfortunate incident. Our hearts go out to Jordyn and her family and we wish her a speedy recovery,” a spokesperson said, according to the site. “We are continuing to work with the customer and the franchisee of this store. At this time, we believe that all procedures were followed. As a precaution, we have a warning label on our pizza boxes.”
On Facebook, Jodyn’s mom is continuing to warn parents that her case could happen to others too.
“Trust me, if it can happen to my family it could happen to yours. I don’t need the attention, the headache, or the heartache of any of it. Seeing my baby girl hurt breaks me, and I come from a line of strong women. This is a horrible experience. But in all things I will trust God. We all will heal,” she wrote.