GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — The death of a temporary employee crushed in a stampede of post-Thanksgiving shoppers at a Long Island Wal-Mart store could have been prevented, federal officials said Tuesday as they proposed fining the retailer $7,000.
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it was citing Wal- Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management in the Nov. 28 death of Jdimytai Damour.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Damour had been on the job for about a week when a crowd estimated at 2,000 strong broke down the Valley Stream store’s doors in search of pre-dawn bargains, trapping him in a vestibule. The 34-year-old Queens man died of asphyxiation.
Eleven people, including a pregnant woman, were hurt.
“Effective planning and crowd management could have prevented this incident and its grave consequences,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York. The retailer has 15 days to respond to the allegations, which could lead to a fine of $7,000, Kulick said.
