[iBook] Surplus iBook sale.......Hmmm, new list members??

[B G]

17 Hurt as Computer Sale Turns Into Stampede
'Pandemonium' As 5,000 Show Up At Richmond Event


Presented with a rare chance to get a used laptop computer for $50, a  
crowd of more than 5,000 showed up hours early yesterday at the  
Richmond International Raceway and -- when the gates finally were  
flung open at 7 a.m. -- turned into an unruly stampede, as people  
pushed, shoved and beat each other to get to the Apple iBooks.  
Elderly men and women were trampled and a girl's stroller was crushed.

"There was pandemonium at the gate where people rushed to get  
through," said H.W. Stanley Jr., police chief for Henrico County,  
where the event was held.


Henrico County Police Sgt. A.J. Scott tries to hold back crowd  
members pushing against doors at the Richmond International Raceway  
complex.
Henrico County Police Sgt. A.J. Scott tries to hold back crowd  
members pushing against doors at the Richmond International Raceway  
complex. (By Dean Hoffmeyer -- Richmond Times-dispatch Via Associated  
Press)

The melee lasted about five minutes, and about 70 police officers  
eventually were called in to control the crowd, Stanley said. About  
17 people were injured, including four who were taken to a hospital  
and treated for scrapes, bruises, heat-related problems and possible  
broken bones, authorities said.

Four years ago, Henrico County purchased 18,000 of the computers for  
about $1,100 each for its public school students and teachers. The  
county decided to sponsor yesterday's event to sell 1,000 surplus  
iBooks to residents.

The county posted the event on its Web site, local newspapers ran  
stories on the sale and news otherwise spread on blogs and by word of  
mouth. But no one expected such a crowd, Stanley said.

"I just think the whole system was overwhelmed with the number of  
people that showed up," he said.

People began lining up as early as 1:30 a.m., and the traffic to the  
sale caused a five-mile backup on streets leading to the raceway.  
Some people parked a mile away and walked to the gates for the chance  
to purchase one computer each.

When the gates opened, Stanley said, one "aggressive group of  
individuals" rushed through.

"They decided that they were going to get through first," Stanley  
said, "and it caused a lot of people to run. When they started to  
push and run, then the crowd just started to move with them."

Latoya Jones, 19, said, "I could not move, I could not breathe." She  
said she lost a flip-flop in the ordeal and limped around on the  
sizzling blacktop with one foot bare. "This is total, total chaos,"  
she said.

About 20 police officers were patrolling the event at the outset, and  
about 50 others were called in, along with teams of volunteer  
firefighters who handed out water to the trampled and bruised and  
otherwise helped restore order, Stanley said.

Eventually, county officials let groups of 100 to 150 people into the  
building. Once they got inside, people were "very nice, very  
appreciative," said Paul Proto, director of general services for the  
county.

"Outside, it really took on a life of its own," he said. "The  
surprising thing was the attitude and the aggressiveness. It was  
pretty rough."

The sale ended by 1 p.m., and many people left empty-handed. Some who  
bought laptops sold them to others for more than $50, Stanley said.

Proto said the county initially was going to open the sale to the  
general public. When Henrico began receiving inquiries as far away as  
California and Germany, however, it decided to restrict the sale to  
county residents, he said.

The county has about 8,000 additional laptops that it plans to sell,  
Proto said.