I hope the shoppers at this Long Island Wal-Mart got a super good deal on their vacuum because otherwise trampling a man to death might have been in vain. Oh, and that pregnant lady? Shouldn’t have gotten between the throng and their digital camera discounts, right? 

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

“This crowd was out of control,” said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as “utter chaos.”

Shoppers stepped over man
Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help the man were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said. Witnesses said that even as the worker lay on the ground, shoppers streamed into the store, stepping over him.

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like “savages.”

“When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling ‘I’ve been on line since yesterday morning,’” she said. “They kept shopping.”

The 34-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined, and the man’s name was not released.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone. At least three other people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

I very rarely venture into stores to begin with but I avoid them at all costs on Black Friday. The worst in human nature comes out in fairly enclosed settings. Granted, it normally doesn’t devolve into manslaughter but- having worked in retail for years- I’m not entirely surprised.  I hope the authorities are able to file charges against the shoppers. What they did is akin to a hit and run.