Seinfeld Stuns Sick Crowd

Jerry Seinfeld's trip to a Mercedes dealership took a turn for the surreal when gawkers who had gathered at a roomful of food-poisoned lawyers across the street mobbed the car-collecting comedian.

Seinfeld went to the Park Avenue dealership Tuesday to pick up a new Mercedes E-60.

He soon found himself the object of unwanted attention from the crowd milling across the street in front of the Drake-Swissotel, where 25 lawyers and interns had been sickened after eating apparently tainted tuna steak at the buffet lunch.

The midtown Manhattan firm Shearman & Sterling was holding a mock merger and acquisitions program for its summer associates at the hotel. After the private lunch, some people complained of nausea, tightness in their throats, and flushed skin, said Fire Department spokeswoman Amanda Schmidt.

Extra police officers were sent to keep order as a crowd watched Seinfeld from outside the showroom. The comedian, who reportedly owns more than 50 classic cars, acknowledged his fans with a wave.

The E-60 can cost up to $138,000 and is not usually sold in the United States.