TRAVIS, N.Y. -- A teenage girl from Staten Island fell into an open manhole while trying to text while walking, and city officials are now investigating the incident.
Alexa Longueria, 15, was walking with a friend and preoccupied with a cell phone when she suddenly fell about four or five feet down the manhole.
She had apparently just been passed the phone by her friend and was opening it to send a text message.
Longueria said several apologetic Department of Environmental Protection workers who witnessed the incident ran to her side and helped her crawl out of the hole.
The girl's mother, Kim Longueria, said Alexa is scraped up on her back, under her arms and on her shoulders.
The manhole had been opened by a DEP team flushing a high-pressure sewer line, according to authorities.
An investigation into the incident was underway, the DEP said. The DEP released a statement saying, "We regret that this happened and wish the young woman a speedy recovery."
Kim Longueria said she wants to know why the manhole was left unsupervised in the first place. She said workers told her they had left the manhole open for only a brief moment while they went to get cones from a truck.
DEP protocol specifies that workers are supposed to block off construction areas to pedestrians or mark them with warning signs.
The Longeuria family said they plan to file a lawsuit.
Alexa Longueria, 15, was walking with a friend and preoccupied with a cell phone when she suddenly fell about four or five feet down the manhole.
She had apparently just been passed the phone by her friend and was opening it to send a text message.
Longueria said several apologetic Department of Environmental Protection workers who witnessed the incident ran to her side and helped her crawl out of the hole.
The girl's mother, Kim Longueria, said Alexa is scraped up on her back, under her arms and on her shoulders.
The manhole had been opened by a DEP team flushing a high-pressure sewer line, according to authorities.
An investigation into the incident was underway, the DEP said. The DEP released a statement saying, "We regret that this happened and wish the young woman a speedy recovery."
Kim Longueria said she wants to know why the manhole was left unsupervised in the first place. She said workers told her they had left the manhole open for only a brief moment while they went to get cones from a truck.
DEP protocol specifies that workers are supposed to block off construction areas to pedestrians or mark them with warning signs.
The Longeuria family said they plan to file a lawsuit.
