Breaking news from the New York Daily News-
Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede
BY JOE GOULD
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Updated Friday, November 28th 2008, 10:19 AM
A worker died after being trampled and a woman miscarried when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart Friday morning, witnesses said.
The unidentified worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.
"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too...I literally had to fight people off my back."
Nassau County Police are still investigating and would not confirm the witness accounts. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. Police did say there were several injuries but weren't more specific.
Jessica Keyes was among the shoppers. She told the Daily News she saw a woman knocked down just a few feet from the dying worker.
"When the paramedics came, she said 'I'm pregnant,'" Keyes said.
Paramedics treated the woman inside the store and then, according to Keys, told the woman:
"There's nothing we can do. The baby is gone."
Before police shut down the store, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the store clerk's life.
"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead, said Halcyon Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."
Only a few stopped.
"They're savages," said shopper Kimberly Cribbs, 27. "It's sad. It's terrible."
Posts
12 comments:
Generally, people lack the ability to stand back and look at themselves and what they've become.
Around here, local news said people camped out at the Toys R Us at 9:30 Thursday night. The stores opened at 4am and there was some footage of anxious customers rushing in to grap the latest gadget for their lay-about kids.
I don't get it.
Oh my God!
I never went to Wal-Mart and I'll never will.
BBC reported today the scene of people waiting for one shop, I don't know where, and the crowd entering the shop after the doors were opened.
I don't get it.
Poor man and women.
This is sad.
Mob mentality. Nutso.
okay it took me all day to look at this after you mentioned it on my blog...I don't think I really wanted to know...
I made my harsh social commentary on my blog on the Buy Nothing Post in the comments if you want to see my venom...I won't leave it here...
forgot to hit email updates..
This just confuses me. How can this happen? What's the reason? Is this every-day American activity? Is it Christmas? Is it Thanksgiving? Is it the new depression?
Please enlighten a confused Norwegian
That's ridiculous. I am very sorry that that woman lost her baby. I was thinking about that the otehr day on the tube, people are ruthless.
@Anthony- I agree. Don't think it's a NY/NJ thing though, even though i read in the press it could only happen in NY because of the nature of New Yawkers.
@Stephany- well said.
@Ana- you haven't missed anything by never going to Wal-Mart. I saw the account on the BBC web page after I posted this.
@Immi- I agree. Our cats would never behave like that, would they?
@Gianna, you were right on the money with buy nothing day, and I am so glad I saw it first on your wonderful blog. Keep Spewing, I will keep reading!
@G- I sent you an email explaining to your G mail account. I hope it explains.
@Vivianne, a couple days later it was reported the baby was delivered early, at 8 months and seems to be doing OK. There was also a shooting in Los Angeles, Toys R Us over a Wii or Playstation- or X box.... they are all the same to me!
Hey,
I'm a friend of Dano's and came over to see what you made of all this. It's Monday now and I am still just sick about it. Literally, the whole thing makes me ill. If I did not have small children, I would skip the whole thing this year.
Eve
That actually took place near my hometown.
F__king humans. I was scouting for material for a Black Friday story to write for a gig... and this was the first thing I saw. I just now found out about the pregnant woman who lost her baby in the mess. All I'd previously heard about was the greeter being trampled to death, and a stabbing incident.
I just wish that there was adequate criminal justice in these situations. It strikes me like this: just like white collar crime, these consumerist stampedes will go unpunished not because it's hard or impossible to bring justice... but because the crimes were committed in the pursuit of wealth, and that makes everything acceptable in this society.
Anyway, that's my overly-judgmental take on the matter. Every person who treated others carelessly resulting in these two deaths, should be -- at the very, very least -- publicly humiliated, labeled as a greedy murderer on the front page of the USA Today with their face shots and names.
Grrrr.
Post a Comment