Stampede Of Early Morning Shoppers Seriously Injures Woman
Posted: 6:46 p.m. EST November 28, 2003
ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- A stampede of shoppers left a woman seriously hurt this morning.
She was trampled by a crowd of bargain hunters at a Central Florida Walmart.
41-year-old Patricia Vanlester is at Halifax Medical Center tonight. Family members say she came to Walmart to buy an advertised DVD, but what she got was a trip to the hospital.
When you shop on the day after thanksgiving you can expect to see jammed parking lots and a lot of people headed to the stores.
"They were a herd of elephants in there," shopper Linda Ellzey says. "It was unbelievable."
Ellzey says she and her sister Patti Vanlester shop at Walmart all the time. They know when a sale is on because the crowds are huge, which is why they got to the store at 3:30 a.m. this morning. They wanted to get the 6 a.m. specials. A DVD/VCR player for $29.87.
"It was gift for my mother. Someone got her a bunch of nice DVD's, she was really wanting one bad."
When the store finally opened, shoppers grabbed for the item. People started fighting for the DVD player and pushed Vanlester to the ground.
"I screamed and said stop don't step on her," Ellzey says. "My sister is on the ground but no one would listen."
Walmart employees rushed to Vanlester. She was knocked unconscious. She was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center.
"I don't think it was intentional I don't think any one meant to hurt Patti. I think she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Now, all Ellzey can think about is her sister recovering from the ordeal.
"Our main concern is to get her well and find out what's wrong."
Walmart is currently holding a DVD for Vanlester. However the family says they're not sure if they'll be coming back to Walmart again.
Copyright 2003 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


















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