View Full Version : Woman Trampled in Walmart Shopping Frenzy


Nanny Fine
11-29-2003, 01:30 PM
Yikes!

I remember this happening during the Cabbage Patch Kids craze when I was young - it was really bad. But wow - tramping someone over a $30 DVD player? :eek:

Woman Knocked Unconscious While Shopping
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ORANGE CITY, Fla. - A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious as they scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.



Patricia VanLester had her eye on a $29 DVD player, but when the siren blared at 6 a.m. Friday announcing the start to the post-Thanksgiving sale, the 41-year-old was knocked to the ground by the frenzy of shoppers behind her.


"She got pushed down, and they walked over her like a herd of elephants," said VanLester's sister, Linda Ellzey. "I told them, `Stop stepping on my sister! She's on the ground!'"


Ellzey said some shoppers tried to help VanLester, and one employee helped Ellzey reach her sister, but most people just continued their rush for deals.


"All they cared about was a stupid DVD player," she said Saturday.


Paramedics called to the store found VanLester unconscious on top of a DVD player, surrounded by shoppers seemingly oblivious to her, said Mark O'Keefe, a spokesman for EVAC Ambulance.


She was flown to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where doctors told the family VanLester had a seizure after she was knocked down and would likely remain hospitalized through the weekend, Ellzey said. Hospital officials said Saturday they did not have any information on her condition.


"She's all black and blue," Ellzey said. "Patty doesn't remember anything. She still can't believe it all happened."


Ellzey said Wal-Mart officials called later Friday to ask about her sister, and the store apologized and offered to put a DVD player on hold for her.


Wal-Mart Stores spokeswoman Karen Burk said she had never heard of a such a melee during a sale.


"We are very disappointed this happened," Burk said. "We want her to come back as a shopper."

PZelda
11-29-2003, 01:35 PM
(Don't forget this also happened when Tickle Me Elmo & the 1996 revival of the eating Cabbage Patch Kids came out....What a nightmare)

OMG...That's awful. :( I just hope she recovers quickly and if I were her, I wouldn't want to REMEMBER this happening. :(

¤I Love Clay Aiken¤
11-29-2003, 01:37 PM
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: People can be such a-holes, I tell ya. The cops shouldve been there ASAP and arrested everyone who didnt bother to help her and no DVD for them. Poor woman. Wal-Marts lucky they gave her a DVD... they should give it to her free PLUS some.

vienna waits
11-29-2003, 01:38 PM
Anyone know how much those DVD players are now since the sale ended? Sucks for that lady.

¤I Love Clay Aiken¤
11-29-2003, 01:41 PM
Originally posted by YearbookLoser
Anyone know how much those DVD players are now since the sale ended? Sucks for that lady. LOl, hmm... I dunno. I went to WalMart lastnite and people were getting a bunch of DVD's.

Nanny Fine
11-29-2003, 01:46 PM
Originally posted by YearbookLoser
Anyone know how much those DVD players are now since the sale ended? Sucks for that lady.

They were a special buy for the walmart blitz (the 6 a.m. till 11 a.m. thing). When they sold out that was it. they aren't a normally carried item.

TJL
11-29-2003, 02:07 PM
People are nuts.

It's nice that some folks are getting great bargains, and if you wan to get up at the crack of dawn to go get em, be my guest, but people are going to get hurt doing it...

What's next, riots if they run out of bargains? Fistfights over 1/2 price Bratz dolls?

Police in riot gear shouldn't be what holiday shoppers see. But they will someday.

IownTheDivision69
11-29-2003, 02:15 PM
that reminds me... remember furby? *sigh* i still have mine... and unfortunately, it still works. hmph.

I am Him
11-29-2003, 02:28 PM
I say it serves her right! If it were someone else who got trampled she would not have cared.

Nanny Fine
11-29-2003, 02:30 PM
Originally posted by I am Him
I say it serves her right! If it were someone else who got trampled she would not have cared.

:confused:

*Pleasant Tomorrow*
11-29-2003, 02:31 PM
:eek: Jeez, people are nuts

Crimson and Clover
11-29-2003, 03:13 PM
Someone got knocked out by a bike at my local walmart. Someone I work with saw it. People were fighting over them cause they were only 40$.

hawaii five-o
11-29-2003, 04:17 PM
Peace on Earth and goodwill to all men!!! People sure get greedy this time of year. :(

Don't forget the real reason for the season!!!

webuster
11-29-2003, 05:47 PM
That's terrible- I remember the Buzz Lightyear and Tellytubbie craze too. Anyway- if she'd have went to K-Mart Nate could've helped her! God- that's awful, but it's the first thing I thought of...

Hollow
11-29-2003, 06:31 PM
:lol:

-*Leah*-
11-29-2003, 07:00 PM
People go insane when they find deals. Thats one reason why me or any of my family member's never go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I hope the woman's alright though.:eek:

Pitooey
11-30-2003, 01:29 AM
I hate to say this but, I was laughing so much reading this post. :lol: I pictured that poor woman on the ground being trampled but, some people just don't care. All for a 29.00 DVD player.

I would hate to see what would happen if the DVD's went down to 99 cents........

dandelion wine
11-30-2003, 01:41 AM
The Cabbage Patch Kids craze was pure insanity. What our parents did to get us those dolls...

I was in a Walmart a couple years ago, and saw something close to this happen. Noone gave a damn, so long as they got exactly what they came in there for. "I just tripped her? Was she hurt? Oh well, that's too bad. Now get outta my way!" :rolleyes:

I hope this woman's going to be ok. :(

Hollow
11-30-2003, 01:48 AM
Originally posted by Pitooey
I hate to say this but, I was laughing so much reading this post. :lol:
lol i know. its sad how badly she got hurt and all i would die laughing if i saw it happening.

Brent88
11-30-2003, 07:49 PM
I was asleep while all the mad shopping was going on.

If I EVER even remotely think about going shopping on "Black Friday" just kill me. I hate shopping on a normal day, I can just imagine on a day when the stores are a madhouse. :eek: