Holiday Spirit

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

Woman Knocked Unconscious By Wal-Mart Shoppers
Witnesses: Shoppers Stepped Over Woman Having Seizure

POSTED: 6:39 p.m. EST November 28, 2003
UPDATED: 12:29 p.m. EST November 29, 2003

ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- A 41-year-old woman was knocked unconscious and then trampled by a mob of shoppers who continued to step over her as she suffered a seizure during a Friday sale at Wal-Mart in Orange City, Fla., according to Local 6 News.

Authorities said that Patricia Van Lester arrived at Wal-Mart at 3 a.m. for an early sale on a DVD player for her mother. When the store's doors opened at 6 a.m., Van Lester grabbed the DVD player but was quickly overcome by hundreds of shoppers rushing into the store.

The woman was knocked to the ground, slammed her head on the ground and suffered at least one seizure, according to Local 6 News.

Her sister watched the incident and tried to stop the crowd as they made their way to the merchandise.

"I screamed, 'Stop, don't step on her, my sister is on the ground,' and nobody would listen," the woman's sister, Linda Ellzey said. "I've never seen so many people in a store at one time -- in one area. If there was a fire, nobody could've gotten out of there."

When Orange City and EVAC paramedics got to the store they found Van Lester lying on her left side on top of the DVD player, surrounded by shoppers seemingly oblivious to the unconscious woman, said Mark O'Keefe, a spokesman for EVAC Ambulance.

Van Lester was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Ellzey said her sister will likely remain hospitalized for days.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

[PFire23]

That poor woman. How people can turn into animals over the stupidest things never fails to amaze me. I hope she recovers fully.

[hwoods]

That's why I'm a buyer, not a shopper. I absolutely can't rush into a store, roam aimlessly around a store, or stand in one spot looking at 17 versions of the same item. I know what I want, I go in, pick up the item, and check out. I am loyal to several stores with different lines of merchandise (Lowe's for home improvement, for example) I DO NOT LOOK FOR SALES, and I make it a point to go during those hours that are least crowded. I don't care about price, but I do care about waiting. Your store routinely has lines at the register, I won't be shopping there. Stay Safe....

[CaptainGonzo]

Another reason to call it "silly season"... :rolleyes:

[stm4710]

" Its the most wonderful time of the year.....":rolleyes:

[Medic162]

I saw this article on "Yahoo News" earlier today. I showed it to my assistant chief and he pointed out something quite interesting. The DVD player in question is only on sale for a lousy ten dollars off. It is really a sad day when folks lose their minds over saving ten bucks on something they probably don't even need. This really clears up the lines at the local plasma center...

[Quigger]

This is sad that people are driven by low prices not to care for one another. How stupid can people get!

[Weruj1]

great posts..............some humans are just nuts !how sad !

[jsdobson]

One article that I read about this incident quoted Walmart as offering to "put one of the DVD players on hold for her" while she recooperates.

How about paying her medical bills instead ?

[Weruj1]

ORANGE CITY, Fla. (Nov. 29) - 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.


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Shopper Trampled in Sales Rush


''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.


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''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.''


11/29/03 10:26 EST

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

Originally posted by hwoods
That's why I'm a buyer, not a shopper. I absolutely can't rush into a store, roam aimlessly around a store, or stand in one spot looking at 17 versions of the same item. I know what I want, I go in, pick up the item, and check out. I am loyal to several stores with different lines of merchandise (Lowe's for home improvement, for example) I DO NOT LOOK FOR SALES, and I make it a point to go during those hours that are least crowded. I don't care about price, but I do care about waiting. Your store routinely has lines at the register, I won't be shopping there. Stay Safe....

Woods, that is exactly why you can tell that Lowe's is a man's (not men's) store. Open at 0600 hours, close at 2300 hours (everyday), wide aisles, etc. Women just don't understand :D

[E40FDNYL35]

so??? did she get that DVD player or what???:mad:

[Weruj1]

I shop like Harve does ..............easy in and easy out !

[firefiftyfive]

ME 2, I hate shopping.. get in and get out.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

'Trampled' Wal-Mart Shopper Has History Of Injury Claims
Report: Woman Has Filed 16 Previous Claims, 9 At Wal-Mart Stores
Tony Pipitone, WKMG-Local 6 News

ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- A woman reported "trampled" last Friday by Wal-Mart shoppers desperate for $29.87 DVD players has a long history of claiming injuries from Wal-Marts and other businesses where she worked or shopped.

Patricia Vanlester, 41, was knocked unconscious and, her sister said, "trampled by a herd of elephants" by a stampede of shoppers reaching for DVD players that went on sale at 6 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, according to Orange City police and the sister, Linda Ellzey.

The story was picked up by the Associated Press and carried in newspapers and other media as far away as Australia and China, an example -- some commentators have opined -- of American excess during the holiday shopping season.

An investigation by WKMG-Local 6 reveals Vanlester has filed 16 previous claims of injuries at Wal-Mart stores and other places she has shopped or worked, according to Wal-Mart, court files and state records. Her sister, who accompanied her Friday on the visit to Wal-Mart, has also filed a prior injury claim against Wal-Mart, with Vanlester as her witness, a company spokeswoman said yesterday.

Asked whether Vanlester's frequent injury claims might cast doubt on the veracity of her latest allegation, her attorney, David L. Sweat, of Port Orange, said, "No comment." He did stress, though, that Vanlester "has not filed a claim nor have we decided to file one" related to last week's incident.

Wal-Mart is reviewing store videotapes "as we look into the claim," spokeswoman Karen Burk said from the massive retailer's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. "We will investigate this claim as thoroughly as we have the other 10 claims that this customer and her sister have brought against our stores in the past."

Vanlester, who worked at Wal-Marts in Mt. Dora and Orange City in 1996 and 1997, declined comment through her mother, Barbara Rastellini, with whom she owns a home here.

Vanlester spent at least two days in Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach last weekend and today was back in the hospital "having a procedure done," Sweat said. He did not know if the procedure was related to the Wal-Mart incident.

Vanlester has for years complained of head, back, neck, leg or arm pain caused by slipping and falling, objects falling on her and other accidents, according to medical records in a public court file examined by WKMG-Local 6. In fact, her sister says she was wearing a neck brace at the time of last Friday's incident because of injuries from a years-old car accident.

According to state worker's compensation records and court files at the Volusia County courthouse in DeLand, here's some of what Vanlester has claimed over the years under some of her various legal last names: Rastellini, Findley, Crabtree, Platt and Vanlester.

In 1978 and 1982, more than $400 in worker's compensation was paid after she claimed injuries from being struck by a falling object and from slipping and falling while working as a machine operator at a now-defunct manufacturing plant in DeLand.
In 1984, she claimed a back sprain from working at a restaurant in Winter Haven, producing $356 in worker's compensation.
In 1987, she filed an injury claim against Deltona Lanes, a Volusia County bowling alley, after claiming she slipped and fell while bowling there. In a 1993 sworn deposition in another case, Vanlester testified she received a cash settlement from the bowling alley claim, but did not recall the amount.
In 1989, after her car ran off Interstate 4 in Volusia and overturned, she filed a claim against Big T Tire and Wheel Service, of Orange City, claiming the crash was caused by a tire blowout. She testified she received a cash settlement in that case, as well.
In 1991, she claimed to have slipped on a puddle of hand lotion while shopping for a curling iron at an Orange City Walgreen's, causing "permanent injury, disability, disfigurement (and) mental anguish." She filed suit in 1993, but it was thrown out in January 1994 after a 10-minute hearing. Walgreen's argued no one at the store had seen any liquid on the floor, so it could not be liable for failing to clean it up.
In 1995, Vanlester reported slipping and falling on liquid or grease while working in the meat department of a Eustis Publix, resulting in more than $1,200 in worker's compensation.
In 1996, she claimed to have slipped and fallen while working at the layaway desk of a Mt. Dora Wal-Mart, leading to more than $600 in worker's compensation payments.
In 1997, she claimed a back strain while working at the snack bar of an Orange City Wal-Mart that was replaced by the Wal-Mart Superstore where she claims to have been trampled last Friday.

Burk, the Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said she could not reveal exactly how much Wal-Mart has paid in medical expenses and direct payments to Vanlester as a result of her nine claims, but said the total was in the "thousands."

Nor could she provide details on the injury claim Wal-Mart received from her sister, Ellzey, 48, of Inglis, Fla., except to say Vanlester was listed as a witness to the injury.

Ellzey said in an earlier interview that Wal-Mart should have foreseen the danger of unleashing shoppers on a huge bargain at 6 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. "For several years, every time they do this, people get trampled," she said last week, adding, "I'm panicked. I'm afraid to go into any stores, especially Wal-Mart."

This week, Ellzey has not returned repeated calls seeking comment. But her widely-reported characterization of the incident last Friday as a trampling by a "herd of elephants" has provoked much comment around the world.

Syndicated columnist George Will used it to bemoan the death of Puritanism at the hand of Christmas excess, calling department stores "cathedrals of consumption." A Portland, Ore., Web site carried the story under the headline, "Capitalism's Greatest Hits."

[Weruj1]

more to the story than meets the eye !

[Bones42]

"For several years, every time they do this, people get trampled," she said last week, adding, "I'm panicked. I'm afraid to go into any stores, especially Wal-Mart." Yet, where was she at 6am on Friday? :rolleyes: