So today was incredibly busy due to the Mega Event, wednesdays we can usually just hang out and have like 5 customers the whole day. Due to the mega event, the store was so crowded that we ran out of carts, and the kmart next door ran out of carts because our customers kept taking them (theyre too lazy to get a cart out of the corral they parked next to, but they can walk 200 feet to kmart to take theirs?) and we were being told over 100 times a minute that we were out of carts. we had only 3 cashiers and 2 baggers, like normal on a wednesday. so this cashier on the register next to me, who is about 7 months pregnant, was coming from behind the register to bag groceries for her customer when a lady who was maybe 35-40ish tried to grab the customers cart from her. the cashier stepped in front of her to try to put the bagged groceries in it and the customer hit her square in the belly and ran off with the cart. she pushed her so hard she fell back and had to grab the register to stay up and she went into labor. her water broke all over the floor and a bunch of people were freaking out and me and a shift supervisor tried to take her to break room nect to the pharmacy where nobody was while we waited for the ambulance so shed be a little more comfortable.
Happy ending: her baby was just over 2 months early but fine and healthy in every other way. Our "security" (a bunch of male grocers who are assigned to it) found the customer shopping and kelp track of her to make sure she didnt leave before the cops arrived.
the baby is healthy for its age and is currently in an incubator until 8 1/2 months and then another 2 weeks just in case. the mother is perfectly fine, but is staying in the hospital for a week just in case.
the lady was arrested and is being charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child (some grocers said that ones a long shot though since it was still a fetus)
the cashier has been granted maternal leave until she feels ready to come back, however long it may be, up to 6 months.
the cashiers "baby daddy" was also granted paid leave from his job for up to 3 months.
as for endangering the welfare of a child it depends on state law. some places recognize when the pregnant woman has been attacked, the child is endangered too.
"the lady was arrested and is being charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child (some grocers said that ones a long shot though since it was still a fetus)"
There is actually a very good chance she can be charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child since its near the Fetal Stage the final stage in which its near ready to birth. She only had 2 months left before it was ready to be born.
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My Views and Opinions do not reflect that of the Kroger company. I'm an indivdual expressing my 1st amendment right.
Boy, it's a sad day when a mother and her unborn child could possibly suffer an injury or worse, due to the impatience of a customer. I think more people, customers AND non-customers alike need to learn how to slow down. It doesn't matter if you're on the freeway or in a long line at the grocery store. Have a little respect for the person next to you, and don't do anything that might cause them harm. Everybody wants to be in a hurry all the time, and no one thinks of the consequences of their actions.
