Ah, that holiday spirit

Sunday, November 30, 2003

When the siren rang at precisely 6 a.m. Friday to kick off the Wal-Mart Supercenter's five-hour "blitz" sale, Patricia VanLester was first in line to grab one of the DVD players on sale for $29.87.

But before VanLester, 41, could inch her way through the crowd with her prize, she was knocked to the ground by a frenzy of shoppers.

"She got pushed down, and they walked over her like a herd of elephants," said her sister, Linda Ellzey, 48, who with VanLester had waited 2 1/2 hours for the sale to begin. "I told them, 'Stop stepping on my sister! She's on the ground!' "

Ellzey said some shoppers tried to help VanLester, but most people just continued their rush for deals.

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

The shoppers wouldn't even get out of the way for the paramedics who arrived to take the unconscious woman to the hospital.

"The people were all around this woman," said Mark O'Keefe, a spokesman for EVAC Ambulance. "They would not move as the ambulance crew arrived and tried to get to the woman. They were concerned about one thing: bargain-shopping."

This is a dream come true for some merchandisers -- create a product that's so in demand that people will trample others for a chance to get it.
Sounds like Soylent Green to me!

And the kind, concerned people at Walmart?

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

That's class.