UES Grocery Shopper 'Trampled' As Staff Chase Young Bread Thief: Suit

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side shopper was trampled on an escalator when grocery store staff tried to stop a kid from stealing a loaf of bread about a month into New York City's COVID-19 lockdown, according to a new lawsuit.

The woman saw the East Side Jean Valjean chased down by a manager and five staffers at the late Food Emporium on East 69th Street on April 24, 2020, the suit says.

The youth ran the wrong way down the escalator and, in the chaos, the helpless shopper was "trampled," severely enough to cause and permanent injuries, the suit contends.

Fellow shoppers begged the staff to stop the chase and even offered to pay for the hungry boy's bread if it meant he could leave in peace, according to the lawsuit.

Food Emporium staffers ignored the shoppers' pleas and left the bread-winner no option but to desperately flee the wrong way down the escalator, the suit contends.

In the tumble, the woman fractured her right foot and ankle, according to the suit.

She accuses the manager of negligence for failing to stop the commotion or warn shoppers.

Neither the attorney for the shopper nor the Food Emporium's named parent companies in the suit could be reached for additional comment.