60+ people fall ill after company Thanksgiving party

BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — Some 1,800 people may have been exposed to a foodborne illness at a Thanksgiving dinner.

The catered sit-down was at the Toyo Tire plant in Bartow County.

Channel 2's Berndt Petersen spoke with one of the employees who got sick. The employee, asking not to be identified, said he dug into the meal with fork, knife and spoon, and everything tasted fine.

But he says later that day, he and a bunch of co-workers felt awful.

“I started getting really bad stomach cramps, and the only food I ate I threw up," the employee said.

“We know that a large number of people, about 60 that we've had reports of so far, possibly more, have gone to local emergency departments with symptoms of foodborne illness," said Logan Boss with the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Boss told Petersen that two patients had to be admitted to Cartersville Medical Center.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Surveillance video shows robbery at restaurant that left manager dead
• APD officer fired over using excessive force during arrest
• Another person hit trying to cross I-85

The caterer for the event was Angelo's Pizza and Bistro, located about 20 minutes from the plant.

The owner would not go on camera on the advice of his lawyer but while Petersen was at the restaurant, he saw employees scrubbing the place from top to bottom.

In the meantime, the Toyo Tire worker said it was a Thanksgiving meal he'll never forget.

“Everything I ate for three days, I threw up. So, finally last night, my wife made me go to the hospital. When I did, they diagnosed me with salmonella," the employee told Petersen.

The attorney for Angelo's Pizza said the owner and his family are heartbroken over this and offer deepest sympathies to those affected.

They have voluntarily closed the restaurant pending a health department inspection.

Calls to a Toyo Tire representative were not returned.

Cox Media Group