An elementary school teacher from Oklahoma is dead after her family says she was served a margarita at a Mexican restaurant that had industrial-grade degreaser in it.
Holly Hill, a beloved teacher at Elgin Public Schools and an alumnus of the school, died last week.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is investigating Hill’s death as suspicious, but findings have not been released.
Hill’s mother, Kelly Hunter, said her daughter’s life changed forever two and a half years ago when she visited Hacienda Las Margaritas in Elgin.
Hunter said her daughter was served a margarita that was made with “industrial degreaser that contained lye, and that lye damaged her esophagus to the point that my daughter’s been fighting for life for two and a half years.”
Hill spent a week in the hospital, but it took more than 12 weeks to keep her esophagus open.
“I started to really worry when my baby girl woke up, and I had to tell her she couldn’t eat or drink anything for 30 days. She’d be upset, but she smiled at me and said, ‘I could do that,’” Hunter said.
After she believed she had finally recovered, Hill returned to her normal life as an elementary school teacher and bus driver.
“As usual, she got up and went back to work because her kids needed her,” Hunter said.
But recently, while Hill was at work, she began to feel unwell and spiked a fever. She decided to finish her day at home in bed and planned to go to the hospital in the morning.