Texting Teen Falls Down Manhole

[FAPTurbo]

http://hothardware.com/News/Texting-Teen-T...s-Down-Manhole/

In a development that's almost too silly to be true, a New York City teenage girl evidently fell down an open manhole as she walked down the street, distracted because she was...texting. MyFOX NY reports Alexa Longueira was strolling down a Staten Island sidewalk and was fiddling with her phone, preparing to send a text, when she disappeared down an open sewer access duct.

Longueira is said to have suffered mild cuts and bruises, but she should be just fine. Workers told the girl's mother they left the manhole open and unattended for mere seconds as they went to grab some pylons from their trucks. The Department of Environmental Protection announced an investigation.

Mercedes Padilla, of the DEP, was quoted as saying: "DEP is conducting a full investigation of what happened during a manhole incident on Victory Boulevard where workers were flushing a high-pressure sewer on Wednesday evening. We regret that this happened and wish the young woman a speedy recovery."

In an astonishing (not) twist, the family plans to sue. Apparently it doesn't matter that the girl was texting and not paying attention to her surroundings; the dangerous duct should have been covered.

The moral of the story? Look where you're going, dummy!

*Video in the link

[FAPTurbo]

[ShadowDog]

Damnit! I mean, really, she'll win her case because the pylons are supposed to be in place 'before' work commences. Regardless of the fact that she's too stupid to do anything while walking at the same time. Yet, another excuse to hate stupid people.

[Croc]

Sorry, but whether or not she was texting is irrelevant. Manhole covers should be secured, or they should be marked and/or attended while unsecured.

Would it be any different if, instead of a texting teen, she were a blind person?

NO!

This is negligence on the city's part. Someone should have been attending it for the "mere seconds" it took to get the cones...or better yet, the cones should have been around before they even opened the cover up.

[ocnblu]

Croc, I hope you never buy coffee at McDonald's.

[Satty]

Croc, I hope you never buy coffee at McDonald's.

I was expecting you to make a "manhole" joke at his expense.

[ocnblu]

I must be slipping. I guess my bemusement over this whole stupid episode overshadowed my typical C&G response. But get real, what kind of utter moron walks into open manholes? If it had been a tree in front of her dumb ass and she walked into it, who would she have sued then, the Parks Dep't or something? GIVE ME A BREAK, for crying out loud!

[PurdueGuy]

I agree with Croc. The family doesn't deserve millions or anything stupid like that, but the city sure needs to pay for all medical bills, a new outfit, and a *small* compensatory amount for the trouble they caused. Cones should've been in place, or one worker stay by the hole while the other gets cones. Sure the girl is ditzy, but it was negligent on the city workers' behalf.

[FAPTurbo]

Sure the city should have placed cones before-hand, but I do hope the judge does remind her that she is indeed a total moron.

I'd hate to know if she texts at the wheel.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Kix

[Croc]

I agree with Croc. The family doesn't deserve millions or anything stupid like that, but the city sure needs to pay for all medical bills, a new outfit, and a *small* compensatory amount for the trouble they caused. Cones should've been in place, or one worker stay by the hole while the other gets cones. Sure the girl is ditzy, but it was negligent on the city workers' behalf.

Exactly.

Legally, it comes down to responsibility and expectations: what is the expectation that you are walking down the street and there is a hole in the sidewalk? Next to none. For a city agency to knowingly create an unexpected, hazardous condition, and not provide warning/notification...that's just negligent.

Also, if the manhole was uncovered for "mere seconds" before they did get the cones, you're telling me they couldn't have seen the girl walking down the street and verbally warned her? Because I can't imagine a teen girl on her phone powerwalking onto the scene (AFTER they left a cover open on a deserted street), falling down and hurting herself, all in "mere seconds."

Someone's fibbing, and I doubt it's the injured party.

[Croc]

Croc, I hope you never buy coffee at McDonald's.

I don't eat at McDonald's.

But if they ever served me something unsafe, damn right I'd sue.

You always bring this case up, and like the rest of America you seem willfully ignorant of the facts. The only reason the woman won was because it was served to her at an unbelievably unsafe temperature...one that would cause 2nd degree burns on contact. McDonald's also intentionally served the coffee so hot in an attempt to cover up the inferior quality of the coffee. This was documented in company memos. Also, by serving coffee this scaldingly hot, they were endangering customers and employees in the event of a spill.

Coffee should be served warm, not so scaldingly hot that it leaves 2nd degree burns on immediate contact.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Croc

[ocnblu]

Oh please, she could have come around from behind their truck, or around a street corner. Do you look where you're going when you walk, or do you just put one foot in front of the other and close your eyes? How can you justify this stupidity?

[Croc]

Oh please, she could have come around from behind their truck, or around a street corner. Do you look where you're going when you walk, or do you just put one foot in front of the other and close your eyes? How can you justify this stupidity?

The standard pedestrian walking rate is 4 feet per second (this is the rate used for determining crosswalk timer lengths). Obviously, this would be slower when text messaging, so let's say it's 3 feet per second in this case.

How do you define "mere seconds"? I'll use a conservative estimate of 10 seconds, that these workers were otherwise on-point, dilligent workers who literally turned their backs for just a matter of seconds.

So, by the calculations, she was within 30 feet away. And they didn't see/warn her?

You say she may have just come from around their truck...nowhere does it say she was walking in the street, and why would she? That's a stretch. But, she may have come around a corner, which actually places MORE blame on the negligent workers. If the manhole were located close to a corner, even with big orange cones and barricades, many pedestrians would be startled and in danger of falling in due to the blind spot. So having a completely unattended, uncovered manhole cover right around a corner...just stupid.

Now ocn, unless you really don't get out much, when you walk down the street, you glance around at people, at billboards, maybe receive an email or phone call, and YOU KEEP WALKING. Eyes are open, but worst case scenario, you maybe laugh at yourself for tripping on the raised edge of an uneven sidewalk you didn't see. You're not expecting open trenches/holes in the middle of the sidewalk.

[CaddyXLR-V]

No one here has ever had a clumsy moment where you were walking and paying attention to something else, or looked behind you,then turned around and there's an object right in front of you? I'm sure it's happened to every one of us at one point in our lives. I've almost done it before, and I am always very aware of my surroundings.

[Croc]

I must be slipping. I guess my bemusement over this whole stupid episode overshadowed my typical C&G response. But get real, what kind of utter moron walks into open manholes? If it had been a tree in front of her dumb ass and she walked into it, who would she have sued then, the Parks Dep't or something? GIVE ME A BREAK, for crying out loud!

You are slipping. What kind of person walks into an open manhole? Someone who does not see it and does not expect it. Whether BLIND (the walking stick mainly checks for raised elevations, and may or may not be effective at noticing an open hole), or distracted, or just walking around a corner and having no time to react to the presence of something unexpected, the area should have been cordoned off, posted, and monitored.

[ocnblu]

I guess I was just raised to watch where I'm walking. Maybe I'm old-school. Maybe society should not expect people to be able to take care of themselves while they are walking. Texting is certainly more important than making sure a person doesn't injure themselves. Technology trumps common sense. My bad. Sorry. (holy $h!)

[Croc]

No one here has ever had a clumsy moment where you were walking and paying attention to something else, or looked behind you,then turned around and there's an object right in front of you? I'm sure it's happened to every one of us at one point in our lives. I've almost done it before, and I am always very aware of my surroundings.

Of course. This is just common sense.

Blu and others just seem to want to make a soap box case against wild, out-of-control, ditzy, texting teen girls...do they dress too sexy? Maybe this should be a Jenny Jones segment...Equally devoid of logic and reasoning...

Edited July 13, 2009 by Croc

[ocnblu]

...and don't assume you know my angle of approach. It is basic common sense to look where you're going when you're walking. Manholes are in the streets. Are you trying to say that a person does not need to LOOK AROUND before walking into the street? Whatever the gender or age of this person... walking into the street unaware is not a smart thing to do, dammit. A person should NOT be distracted by any other thing when walking into the street! Edited July 13, 2009 by ocnblu

[Camino LS6]

The telling aspect of this will be the amount demanded by the suit.

[Croc]

...and don't assume you know my angle of approach. It is basic common sense to look where you're going when you're walking. Manholes are in the streets. Are you trying to say that a person does not need to LOOK AROUND before walking into the street? Whatever the gender or age of this person... walking into the street unaware is not a smart thing to do, dammit. A person should NOT be distracted by any other thing when walking into the street!

There are plenty of manhole covers on the sidewalk. In Indiana, Los Angeles, New York, or any other place I have been to. See, storm water sewers are generally located in the curbs, and their access is nearby, usually on the sidewalk.

Having an open manhole cover in the street is even more egregious, since vehicles travel at much faster speeds, require much more stopping distance, and can have very expensive accident repair bills.

[PurdueGuy]

...and don't assume you know my angle of approach. It is basic common sense to look where you're going when you're walking. Manholes are in the streets. Are you trying to say that a person does not need to LOOK AROUND before walking into the street? Whatever the gender or age of this person... walking into the street unaware is not a smart thing to do, dammit. A person should NOT be distracted by any other thing when walking into the street!

Fail. Watch the video - the manhole cover is not in the street, it is smack in the middle of a normal stretch of residential sidewalk. I personally think you overestimate how closely you watch where you walk. When you walk the same stretch (sidewalk, hallway, whatever) multiple times without change, it is human nature to automate the action and pay much less attention to the details of your surroundings. In this case a manhole cover (darker colored circle in the sidewalk) was instead a hole (darker colored circle in the sidewalk), and it could easily only take a mild distraction to not notice it. It was a hazard, and it was not unreasonable for the workers to recognize that and take precautions. In fact, they were in the process of taking precautions, an action that itself shows that they recognized it as a hazard, but failed to take full guard against it.

Of course, you may be the rare person who refuses distraction and simply stares at the ground 3ft in front of you while walking. Friend may say hi, and you either stop walking and talk, or refuse to look. After all, it's only common sense to always watch where you're walking, even if you've walked that stretch a million times before and it's always been the same and safe.

[ocnblu]

Yup, I watched the video at Booyah's link. The manhole was on the sidewalk. The dummy's mother said the workers walked 10 feet to get the cones. I love the comments at the link... at least some ppl are left in the world that feel that common sense is a virtue.

[Intrepidation]

Wow, 2 pages of this.

[Croc]

And the video also said she was walking to the store with a friend. Friend obviously didn't see it either.

Finally, she certainly didn't walk around a corner as the video shows fences and front yards...so the DWP workers most certainly should have seen her approaching, or at the very least, heard her and her friend as they were walking.

Also, her doctor has apparently decided that she needs an MRI to check for spinal damage. This is serious.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Croc

[Camino LS6]

I'd say that the workers didn't follow the proper order of operations in this instance.

But that doesn't make the girl any less of a nitwit.

[ocnblu]

Perhaps the workers were victims of their own common sense. The manhole was uncovered, no doubt the cover was laying beside the hole. How could they have predicted this little dummy would walk into it? Maybe that is why they didn't scream, shout and wave their arms, which could have led to a lawsuit for frightening the tender young lass.

[Croc]

Perhaps the workers were victims of their own common sense. The manhole was uncovered, no doubt the cover was laying beside the hole. How could they have predicted this little dummy would walk into it? Maybe that is why they didn't scream, shout and wave their arms, which could have led to a lawsuit for frightening the tender young lass.

Now you're just making stuff up. I have NEVER seen the cover right next to the hole when the city is doing any dredging/maintenance operations. NEVER. It is usually propped against the curb. Why? Well, knowing the disc-like shape of a manhole cover, what's far easier to pick up? A cover lying on the flat sidewalk, or one propped against the street curb? You can't use a crowbar to pick it up off the sidewalk, but obviously you can when it's covering a hole.

And startling someone isn't grounds for a lawsuit, anywhere.

[Croc]

I'd say that the workers didn't follow the proper order of operations in this instance.

But that doesn't make the girl any less of a nitwit.

Exactly, they were negligent. Their negligence resulted in injury to someone who would not have been injured otherwise. Whether or not the girl was negligent by texting is irrelevent; her negligence did not result in injury to anyone else. Her friend walking with her obviously didn't see the open hole, either.

In a court of law, all that's needed to prove a civil case is that a party was negligent, another party was injured/suffered damages, and that the injured party was not recklessly endangering themselves.

Using a cell phone to text while walking down a residential street would never count as "recklessly endangering oneself."

Edited July 13, 2009 by Croc

[Camino LS6]

Frankly, I'd be too embarrassed to sue.

[Intrepidation]

I think she should have paid a little more attention to where she was going. I mean, unless your peripheral vision is terrible, you can see the ground ahead of you even looking straight ahead.

With that said, there should have been cones up from the beginning, and it was irresponsible of them not to do so.

[capriceman]

I would be to embarrassed to make it public if i fell in any hole.

[ocnblu]

She got herself in deep $h!, that's for sure.

[Croc]

Well, I more than likely would be embarrassed as well, but if I suffered spinal injuries I'd sue.

Plus, so she got cuts and scrapes...but she's falling into a sewer. Obviously there is a high risk for infection here.

[Drew Dowdell]

Everyone needs to pipe down in here.....

what?.... too soon?

[Intrepidation]

[deftonesfan867]

Question is however. If the cones were in place would it have even prevented her from falling down the hole? Warnings only work if you're actually paying attention. Sounds like there's alot we don't know about the situation before we can make conclusions as to what happened.

Regardless though I'm not surprised at all that the family is suing.

Edited July 14, 2009 by deftonesfan867

[ShadowDog]

Alright, I have a plan:

Judge awards restitution for medical fees, personal damages etc. on the condition the teenager does not own / operate a cell phone for one year.

[CaddyXLR-V]

Alright, I have a plan:

Judge awards restitution for medical fees, personal damages etc. on the condition the teenager does not own / operate a cell phone for one year.

So if she happened to fell in while just talking to her friend, would she not be allowed to talk for a year?

[Croc]

Alright, I have a plan:

Judge awards restitution for medical fees, personal damages etc. on the condition the teenager does not own / operate a cell phone for one year.

That's arbitrary and capricious, and no sane judge would issue that judgment. Get real.

[Croc]

So if she happened to fell in while just talking to her friend, would she not be allowed to talk for a year?

Exactly. Thank you for not being insane.

[ocnblu]

Perhaps a Boy Scout could lead her dumb ass around by the hand so she doesn't hurt herself.

[Croc]

Perhaps a Boy Scout could lead her dumb ass around by the hand so she doesn't hurt herself.

You volunteering?

[ocnblu]

I think I'd die from boredom or kill her, one of the two. You?

[Oracle of Delphi]

I had to read this, I would have swore it had to be in LA, and I'm not talking Louisiana either ...

[ocnblu]

I was thinking the same thing. I was surprised it was in NYC. I thought New Yorkers had more street smarts than this.

[Croc]

Why in the hell would you think this would have happened in LA? Are you two both so out-of-touch with reality to forget that nobody walks in LA? We drive! Always have! Missing Persons even wrote an iconic song about this truism.

For car enthusiasts, you guys don't know much about the capital of car culture.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Why in the hell would you think this would have happened in LA? Are you two both so out-of-touch with reality to forget that nobody walks in LA? We drive! Always have! Missing Persons even wrote an iconic song about this truism.

For car enthusiasts, you guys don't know much about the capital of car culture.

I just said it because I'm in Australia and I was bored and I thought I would get a response out of you ... Looks like I did ... :rotflmao:

[ocnblu]

*nerve touched* DING!

Croc, we still love you even if you have ballooned to 469 pounds.

Edited July 14, 2009 by ocnblu

[Camino LS6]

Capital of car culture?

BS

Doesn't deserve any such title.

[ocnblu]

It's the land of choking pollution standards and the pissy Prius. So no, it is no longer the capital of car culture.