Wal-mart Hero (New York Post)

December 1, 2008

Kavita Mokha, Sally Goldenberg and Leonard Greene

A part-time security guard trampled to death during a Black Friday stampede at a Long Island Wal-Mart died while trying to help a pregnant shopper caught in the crush, a source said yesterday.

Jdimytai Damour, 34, of Queens threw himself between the throng of frenzied, bargain-hunting shoppers and an unidentified pregnant woman who stood in their path between the door and the store's deeply discounted flat-screen televisions, said the source with knowledge of the police investigation.

"She was outside, being pushed against the glass, and he saw that and tried to help her," the source said. "He was trying to help her, and he ended up getting killed."

Nassau County cops declined to discuss the claim or other details about their probe.

The idea that Damour may have died trying to perform a heroic act was some consolation to his family, who, through a spokesman, described the victim as "a really good guy."

"The family is doing well," said Jordan Hecht, a lawyer representing the family in a possible suit against the Valley Stream Wal-Mart and the Green Acres mall it anchors. "They're angry, but right now they're grieving," Damour was killed when a thick crowd of nearly 2,000 unruly shoppers burst through the Wal-Mart door at about 5 a.m. after waiting outside several hours.

"It's a horrible thing," Hecht said. "Think about the fear he was going through with people stomping on them. It's a horrible way to go."

The deadly Wal-Mart stampede shocked the country and encouraged at least one lawmaker to call for a consumer-crowd protection law.

City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Queens) said the city should mandate beefed-up security measures for large stores during "door-buster" sales.

The councilman said he will soon introduce legislation to require stores of a certain size to implement "common-sense measures to protect workers and shoppers from the perils of these unsafe free-for-alls."

Despite Damour's death, bargain hunters were back at Wal-Mart yesterday, as was a private security detail to monitor the crowd.