Promotion For Cheap Used Cars Sends Crowd On Stampede

A promotion offering used cars as cheap as $5 turned into a stampede with fights and a few injuries.

Clarke Ford said 2,000 to 3,000 people showed up Saturday.

“We were a little overwhelmed,” said Matt Sakolove, a representative of the advertising firm that staged the event.

He said the organizers expected that cold weather would hold down the crowd.

Instead, it was unseasonably warm and people started lining up Friday night for a chance at 250 cars, marked down to $5, $15, $50, $500 or $5,000.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, the would-be buyers were released to rush to get behind the wheel of their chosen vehicle.

“It was exhilarating,” Sakolove said. “You don’t get to see that many people running every day.”

None of the injuries was serious, police said. One pregnant woman who waited all night was treated for dehydration.