Black Friday Shopper Nearly Trampled to Death

Black Friday shopper Keith Krantz was almost trampled to death during a stampede at a Target store in Buffalo, New York. INSIDE EDITION has the story.

Keith Krantz was almost trampled to death when trying to get some Christmas shopping deals on Black Friday.

"There was a good period of a few seconds when I thought, 'I can't get myself out of here, I think I might die here,' " Krantz tells INSIDE EDITION.

As shoppers flooded into a Target store in Buffalo, New York, Krantz lost his footing in the doorway. A stampede ensued.

His screams were audible as other shoppers ran over and around him and proceeded to go right on shopping.

"It's kind of disgusting to think that people can just step over somebody laying on the ground who's obviously in pain," Krantz says.

Store employees finally managed to free Krantz, who staggered inside the store to catch his breath, clearly terrified by the ordeal.  

Shoppers had been waiting in line for hours to buy flat screen TVs on sale and when the doors finally opened at 4 a.m., Krantz was caught in the crush.

"My chest was being compressed real bad, I don't know if somebody was directly on me, I'm not sure...but I couldn't breathe," he remembers.

Fortunately, he wasn't seriously hurt.

Target says in a statement: "Target...employs numerous crowd management tactics to prevent incidents. We continually analyze and improve those plans, and will do so in this case, to help ensure a safe and enjoyable shopping experience."