A routine shift at a McDonald’s restaurant turned terrifying when a 20-year-old employee was unprovoked and doused in hot oil by a co-worker.Jacob Smith has been in the ICU for more than a week after suffering second-degree burns on his face, neck, arms and back during the May 30 incident in Yuba City, California. Police have arrested fellow McDonald’s employee Jalani Bluett, 23, in connection with the attack.According to Smith’s mother, Amber Smith, her son was performing normal duties at work when the incident occurred.“He was getting ready to count the money in the office when he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and he just turned around, and oil was thrown on him,” he told KCRA.Investigators have not disclosed a motive, and Smith himself is struggling to understand why he was targeted.“As his mother, my heart broke when he looked at me and said, ‘Why would he do this to me?’ Amber Smith wrote in an online fundraiser created to help cover medical bills and living expenses while her son is unable to work.As of Sunday the fundraiser had reached its goal of $22,000. It said Smith was engaged and awaiting a long recovery.Amber Smith said the injuries have left her son in severe pain.“The pain he’s experiencing is so excruciating that they can’t give him pain medication outside the ICU,” he said.Doctors are working to reduce the intensity of the burns in hopes of avoiding skin lesions.After the attack, Bluett fled the restaurant and was later reported missing. He was “considered at risk due to his diagnosis and vulnerabilities”. He was tracked down, arrested and charged with several serious crimes, including causing grievous bodily harm.Bluett is being held without bail as investigators look into what led to the shocking incident.“I want justice to be served. I want him to do as much time as he needs for what he did to my son,” said Amber Smith.She added, “I mean, I don’t wish bad things towards him. I just want him to understand what he did – really understand what he did – and the pain he caused my son is excruciating.”