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Family seeks closure after woman killed in deep fryer explosion

The family of a woman who died in 2012 when a deep fryer exploded say they cannot get closure because the final part of the case is still hanging over their heads.

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PEMBROKE, N.C. — The family of a woman who died in 2012 when a deep fryer exploded say they cannot get closure because the final part of the case is still hanging over their heads.

Susan Woods, 56, died in December 2012 at the UNC Burn Center, five months after an explosion at the 710 Dragway, near Pembroke.

"It was Christmas Eve and she had bought all of her grandchildren Christmas presents but one granddaughter," said Rose Marie Cummings, Woods' sister.

Cummings said Woods was a mother of three and had nine grandchildren.

Family seeks closure after woman killed in deep fryer explosion

Woods was a cook all of her life and was working at the concession stand the day of the explosion. She was getting ready for an event when she needed cooking oil for the deep fryer.

Family members said Kethon Oxendine, the son of the dragway owner, gave Woods a container she thought was oil for the deep fryer.

"When she went there to get the cooking oil in the grease in the deep fryer, it wasn't oil. It was gas," Cummings said. "When she poured the gas in the deep fryer to fry the chicken, it exploded."

The court ordered a settlement of about $65,000, but family members said the Oxendines have yet to sign a check that has been sitting in an attorney's office.

"This is my mother and my father. She raised me. I never had a father...I just don't think it's right because they've got money," said Denise Scott, Woods' daughter. "You can't just kick it under the table and think it's alright. What if it was your mother?"

The family said their attorney has sent a letter to the Oxendines imposing a 10-percent penalty per-day if the check is not signed in 10 days.

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