Killer Dr Pepper

HOUSTON—A criminal investigator from the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday went to the house of a Houston woman who said she was sickened after drinking a tainted bottle of Dr Pepper.

The investigator talked to Amanda Womack about her experience. Womack said three weeks ago she had to be rushed to the hospital after taking a sip of Dr Pepper.  She said the 20-ounce soda was bought at T&W Quick stop off North Wayside and smelled and tasted like gasoline.

Tests by the city’s health department and an independent lab confirmed components of gasoline were found in the popular drink. Benzene and Naphthalene were among the components.

The health department and Dr Pepper now say that two dozen contaminated bottles were discovered.  All of the bottles came from the same store. Some of the tainted Dr. Peppers were found in storage.

“I want to get to the bottom of it because it’s really not fun,” Womack said.

Womack said she’s happy that the FDA is taking her case seriously.

“I’m happy because it was just like we were being ignored. No one believed us. They thought it was a joke. They thought it was a game. Playing with someone’s life is not a game,” Womack said.

The FDA told Womack it will send the contaminated bottles to a lab in Cincinnati, Ohio. It hopes the lab will be able to determine how the dangerous chemicals ended up in the 24 sodas.