iBook Sale Turns Into Stampede
I have some news from my home state of Virginia. I guess since I've seen this on Blackplanet, this now qualifies as national news. This past Tuesday, there was a sale by the county of Henrico to sell off about 1,100 Apple iBook laptop computers--at $50 each! By the way, new iBooks cost between $999 and $1299. The catch was that you had to be an actual county resident in order to obtain one. These laptops were at least 4 years old, and were scrapped in favor of the new Dell laptops kids in Henrico County schools will be using instead. People from as far away as California came to Virginia to try to get their hands on one of the iBooks in hopes of turning a profit by selling it for many times its asking price on Ebay. Originally, this sale was open to everyone on a first-come-first-serve basis, but then county residents griped about it until they got their way. Anyway, the sale got underway finally this past tuesday.
Officials opend the gates at about 7:00 A.M. About 5,500 people made it out the Richmond International Raceway to try their hands at picking up the computers, and at that $50 dollar price tag, you could've guessed there was pandemonium out there. People screaming, getting pushed to the ground and then trampled on, it was hell out there to be sure. There was even a report of an elderly man being shoved to the ground, and person trying to drive through the crowd in a car! One child's stroller was crushed in the melee. The child was fine as her father pulled her out of harm's way just in time. One woman was so desperate that she wouldn't leave the line and she urinated on herself! She evidently fell ill and the rescue squad worked on her in the line because she was determined not to give up her spot. The iBooks were gone by 1:00 p.m.
Officials opend the gates at about 7:00 A.M. About 5,500 people made it out the Richmond International Raceway to try their hands at picking up the computers, and at that $50 dollar price tag, you could've guessed there was pandemonium out there. People screaming, getting pushed to the ground and then trampled on, it was hell out there to be sure. There was even a report of an elderly man being shoved to the ground, and person trying to drive through the crowd in a car! One child's stroller was crushed in the melee. The child was fine as her father pulled her out of harm's way just in time. One woman was so desperate that she wouldn't leave the line and she urinated on herself! She evidently fell ill and the rescue squad worked on her in the line because she was determined not to give up her spot. The iBooks were gone by 1:00 p.m.
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