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Mob scene, several hurt in rush for cheap laptops(mass stupidity in Richmond, VA)
NBC12.com, via Drudge ^ | 8/16/05 | NBC12 News

Posted on 08/16/2005 12:37:49 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat

What started as a sale turned into a mob scene as thousands of people pushed their way through the Richmond International Raceway gates to buy a $50 iBook laptop computer from Henrico County Schools this morning. The school district had only 1,000 of these surplus computers to sell, and Henrico County residents got first dibs.

Starletta Wilson came to the sale but when the gates opened at 7 a.m., chaos broke out.

“Yeah, they pushed me, look at my child's stroller... they actually pushed me and stampeded over me. Those people who are down there now were behind us," Wilson said.

Dustin Coppinger, who attended the sale, said he saw an older man get trampled.

"An old man in a walker was trampled to the ground. Trampled to the ground... walked all over," he said.

Dozens more were pushed to the ground as the crowd races through the gates.

A one-year-old baby almost became a victim. Her father pulled her out of her stroller.

"Look at her stroller. Her stroller's demolished. Look at my stroller,” said Wilson.

Alice Jemerson was one victim who got trampled.

"Look at my knees. They ran on top of me. I just starting kicking the people," she said.

A man who had been standing in line since 2 a.m. came to Jemerson’s rescue. Bair Hossai was almost guaranteed to get one of the coveted computers.

"I'm not going to leave somebody who's hurt. It's not worth it. I could have been in the line, but I'm not going to do it, because it's not worth it," Hossai said.

NBC12 will have Apple iBook experts in the Call12 Center tonight from 5-6:30 p.m. to answer all of you iBook questions. Call tonight, 345-1212.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: henricocounty; ibooks
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It takes a real pigheaded idiot to stampede someone else out of greed. Trash is trash.
1 posted on 08/16/2005 12:37:50 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
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To: Diddle E. Squat

2 posted on 08/16/2005 12:38:24 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
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To: Diddle E. Squat

I'd bet many don't even want the computer, rather they want to sell it for profit on eBay.


3 posted on 08/16/2005 12:40:05 PM PDT by Rokurota (.)
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To: Diddle E. Squat
Still no report on "ABLE DANGER" from Matt Drudge?

What's up with that?

4 posted on 08/16/2005 12:40:16 PM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: Diddle E. Squat
the slashdot writeup was hillarious

"What do you get when you combine 1000 used iBooks being sold for $50 and 1000 people desperately wanting to buy them? You get an iStampede of course! Add into the mix one guy who watches too much wrestling and one gal who re-lived her first Backstreet Boys concert by wetting herself and you'll being looking for video of the whole thing. CNN has some extra details as well." From the article: "Officials opened the gates at 7 a.m., but some already had been waiting for hours in line. When the gates opened, it became a terrifying mob scene. People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl's stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man was thrown to the pavement, and someone in a car tried to drive his way through the crowd." "
5 posted on 08/16/2005 12:40:33 PM PDT by minus_273
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To: minus_273
"What do you get when you combine 1000 used iBooks being sold for $50 and 1000 people desperately wanting to buy them? You get an iStampede of course!

Am I a bad person for LOL when I read this from you?

6 posted on 08/16/2005 12:42:05 PM PDT by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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To: Diddle E. Squat

It reminds me of the Easter egg hunts our town used to have for the little kids. The parents, usually welfare type mothers, but some fathers also, would all line up and rush out to grab the Easter eggs, trampling the kiddies and anyone else that got in their way. Why? Because there was prizes from retailers from around the community.


7 posted on 08/16/2005 12:46:25 PM PDT by freedom4ever
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To: freedom4ever

I've seen parents take over the childs' game and cheat to win more tickets at family trips to Chuck E Cheese. Yeah, some of the parents looked scary,but some looked loaded.


8 posted on 08/16/2005 12:50:01 PM PDT by aaronbeth (Our freedom was won from the barrel of a gun.)
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To: minus_273
NBC12 will have Apple iBook experts in the Call12 Center tonight from 5-6:30 p.m. to answer all of you iBook questions.

LOL I wish I could listen to this: "Why won't this $50 piece of #$!& boot up?!? And why are half of the keys broken and sticking?!!??

9 posted on 08/16/2005 12:50:15 PM PDT by GaltMeister (“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”)
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To: Diddle E. Squat

Typical of that class of people. Disgusting. I guess you shouldn't drag 50$ laptops through the ghetto...


10 posted on 08/16/2005 12:50:24 PM PDT by The Worthless Miracle
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To: Diddle E. Squat

A good liberal idea, no doubt. Conservatives would have donated them to charity. (for the tax write off of course)ha!


11 posted on 08/16/2005 12:52:22 PM PDT by Ron in Acreage (It's the borders stupid! "ALLEN IN 08")
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To: Diddle E. Squat
The sellers could have prevented this easily by passing out numbers according to their position in line.

We should not blame people for acting like people. The seller is at fault here by creating a sense of urgency to be first in a large crowd.

12 posted on 08/16/2005 12:52:25 PM PDT by Between the Lines (Be careful how you live your life, it may be the only gospel anyone reads.)
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To: Diddle E. Squat

Do the taxpayers even know about this surplus??

SHEESH


13 posted on 08/16/2005 12:55:20 PM PDT by alisasny (We get 4 more years, you get OBAMA...: ))
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To: Diddle E. Squat

Alt + Control + Stampede


14 posted on 08/16/2005 12:57:35 PM PDT by bc42875
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To: The Worthless Miracle

Don't blame it all on the "ghetto"folks.
Saw a LOT of middle class looking white folks getting in on the stampede.
Greed=an equal oportunity vice.


15 posted on 08/16/2005 12:59:20 PM PDT by Riverman94610
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To: alisasny

Heh. Some enterprising individual is already selling T-shirts on E-Bay that say, "I went to to Henrico County for a $50 i-Book, but all I got was kicked in the b*lls"

http://cgi.ebay.com/HENRICO-COUNTY-50-iBook-t-shirt-kicked-in-the-balls_W0QQitemZ8327177210QQcategoryZ15687QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


16 posted on 08/16/2005 1:01:23 PM PDT by Riley (STOP CASTING POROSITY!!)
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To: Riverman94610

lol who would wait in line to buy an APPLE !?!

ROFL !


17 posted on 08/16/2005 1:03:08 PM PDT by Texas_Conservative2
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To: Diddle E. Squat

poor people s*ck


18 posted on 08/16/2005 1:03:15 PM PDT by correctthought (Hippies, want to change the world, but all they ever do is smoke pot and smell bad)
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To: Swordmaker

mac stampede ping...


19 posted on 08/16/2005 1:06:12 PM PDT by anonymous_user (You gotta be passionate about something. I guess.)
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To: Diddle E. Squat

Armed gang bangers will probably appropriate most of them
at gunpoint...

Or crack dealers own them for a small piece of rock later on this afternoon


20 posted on 08/16/2005 1:07:00 PM PDT by joesnuffy (Save the whales. Redeem them for valuable prizes.)
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