Dairy Queen Workers Allegedly Beat Up Pregnant Customer In ‘Blizzard’ Brawl

Dairy Queen employees in Albuquerque allegedly attacked a pregnant Chicago woman who stopped in for a Georgia Mud Slide Blizzard.

The violent encounter has prompted a 26-page, multi-count personal injury lawsuit filed by the customer against the Dairy Queen corporation, as well as the local store and its manager and workers, in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, court.

The woman and her fiancé were on a cross-country road trip at the time when she apparently experienced a craving for chocolate ice cream that eventually led to the brawl.

Angelika Coakley-Vargas described what she obtained at the drive-thru as “some vanilla concoction” instead. Her fiancé went into the store to purchase some extra hot fudge on the Blizzard for a nominal charge. But that, apparently, didn’t satisfactorily resolve the situation, and Coakley-Vargas went back to the store to ask workers to make her a new Blizzard.

Dairy Queen’s motto is “fan food, not fast food,” but if the allegations are accurate, the customer in this instance seemingly had good reason not be a fan of the food she was served. According to the Dairy Queen corporate website, “Satisfied customers lead to successful restaurants. Each owner of our independently owned and operated establishments worldwide is committed to nothing less than the ‘Fan Food not Fast Food™^‘ slogan.”

A report by KRQE News explains that “When the workers refused, Coakley-Vargas got frustrated. ‘I just like slid the cup across the counter towards her and it tipped over onto the counter,’ Coakley-Vargas said. ‘I walked out and as I’m walking out all I hear is, ‘You f****ing b****!'”

Citing witnesses to the confrontation, a police report indicates that one of the Dairy Queen workers followed the customer out of the store and began punching her. Another worker tried to pull Coakley-Vargas off her alleged attacker.

The worker had a slightly different story, claiming that she followed the customer out of the store to inform her that she was no longer welcome on the premises, when the customer put her in a headlock, and the worker then reacted in self defense.

According to the victim’s newly filed lawsuit inspired by the August 5 incident, while DQ workers were allegedly pulling her hair, punching her in the back of the head, and scratching her, she warned them that she was pregnant.

EMTs administered to the woman at the scene and transported her to a local hospital. “After the women were eventually separated, Coakley-Vargas ran back to her car and called police. Coakley-Vargas was taken to the hospital for treatment. While she was banged up, she tells KRQE News 13 it appears the baby will be okay.”

It’s uncertain as to whether police formally charged anyone in connection with the Blizzard brawl incident. “The officer later visited Coakley-Vargas at a nearby hospital and found her suffering from stress but no injuries. The Chicago resident didn’t want to return to Albuquerque if police filed a criminal summons against the employee and told the officer she wanted to hire a lawyer and file suit against Dairy Queen,” the New York Daily News added.

“The franchise owner could not be reached. Dairy Queen spokesman Dean Peters declined to comment on the pending litigation,” the Sante Fe New Mexican noted about the incident that some might wonder might or might not have been induced by a brain freeze.

[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images News]