July 13th, 2009
Lesson of the day: Don't text and walk over open manhole covers
A teen in Staten Island, NY had a real crappy texting experience.
CBS’ Channel 2 in New York reports:
Alexa Longueira, a high school sophomore, was walking along Victory Boulevard near Travis Avenue on Staten Island Wednesday evening when she felt the earth move and was plunged into smelly darkness.
She said the manhole she fell in to was left open and unattended with no warning signs or orange cones. She said two workers with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection failed to secure the area as they prepared to flush the sewer.
And she also happens to admit that she was texting as she walked and didn’t notice the open manhole. Overall, the city was negligent but texting also played a role.
Longueira is fine—aside from cuts and bruises—but the tale is a reminder (a smelly one) that you should look up when texting as you walk, drive and conduct other activities.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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