Don't text while walking? Girl learns the hard way

We've seen stories on the dangers of DWT (driving while texting). But are we now facing the growing problem of WWT (walking while texting)?

Alexa Longueira,a 15-year-old from Staten Island, learned a painful lesson about the hazards of texting recently. While intent on text messaging as she walked on a sidewalk along the New York borough's Victory Boulevard, she stepped right into an open manhole, sending her several feet into the raw sewage below.

Suffering some cuts and bruises, Longueira was checked out at Staten Island University Hospital and released.

The manhole had been left open briefly by the Department of Environmental Protection just as workers were grabbing some cones to cordon off the area.

"It was four or five feet, it was very painful. I kind of crawled out and the DEP guys came running and helped me," Longueria told local newspaper The Staten Island Advance. "They were just, like, 'I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

For its part, the agency is treating the accident seriously.

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

Jumping into action, the parents have already said they're considering a lawsuit. Mother Kim Longueira holds the DEP at fault, telling FOXNews, "Something like that should never have happened. There should have been cones in place, there should have been a man in place."

Mother Longueira was particularly upset about the sewage. "Oh my God, it was putrid." she said. "One of her sneakers is still down there."

This is hardly the first case of the hazards of walking while texting. Chris Matyszczyk, a blogger for CNET News, has bumped into his share of problems with text walkers. Video from a CBS news report on CNET also points out the dangers of texting while walking, especially on crowded city streets.

To be fair, we've probably all been guilty at one time or another of focusing more on our gadgets than on the world around us. Is this something that could have happened to any of us?

CNET forums, meanwhile, have already seen comments from people weighing in on this latest incident. What's your opinion? Who's to blame? And will the DEP ever recover the lost sneaker?

[thenet411]

Suing? Really? The twit was not looking where she was going. Had she been paying attention, she would have seen the manhole cover open like any sane person would. Take some personal responsibility for crying out loud.

[dragonbite]

Was going to write some comment, but you pretty much sum up my thoughts.

[tm_anon]

Imagine she was a blind girl. The cones aren't in place and she's walked this road many times before so she's not being extra careful in checking the sidewalk with her cane.

Who's to blame?

WWT is, in essence, walking while blind. You know the streets so you're comfortable not being extra careful at all times.

Besides, proper procedure for doing the work they were doing is to put the cones in place first then remove the manhole cover. She shares part of the responsibility but they weren't doing their jobs safely. They can and should be sued.

[ColonelSharp]

+1 Agreed.

Suing? That's completely ridiculous.

[twburger]

Being self responsible? U.S. culture forbids this. Everyone is not guilty by reason of 'It's society's / someone else's fault'. This was established in the case of the murder of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by Dan White on November 27, 1978. The court accepted the defense of mental diminished capacity caused by junk food consumption. Although not the first case where a felon got off (or a conviction on a lesser charge as in this case) using the 'it's society's fault' defense, it was the first time it worked in a clear case of premeditated double homicide. This marked the official adoption of United States policy of 'It's not my fault'.

[thenet411]

@tm_anon

I beg to differ. WWT is NOT, in essence, walking while blind. People do not choose to be blind (as far as I know anyway) but people DO choose to WWT. People CAN sue for anything if they want to waste money and time but the parents should most certainly NOT sue and hang their heads in shame for being so stupid as to even suggest it.

[Dalkorian]

Gotta disagree with you on this one tm_anon. WWT is in essence walking while not paying attention. Close your eyes and walk down that street - THAT is in essence walking while blind.

The girl wasn't seriously injured and she learned an important lesson (the world does NOT revolve around you). That should be the end of the story, but with today's economy it's quite tempting to try to sue someone else for your daughter being an idiot.

[bradykp]

this is absurd. if the cones were there - she still would have fell in. evolution missed one here...

[outlaw26r]

Regardless of the incident and if a lawsuit is justified or not, doesn't a mother screaming about the loss of humanity that her teenage (any individual still considered a minor also applies nicely) daughters shoe is still in raw sewage just make you hope the family loses their suit. Glad your daughters okay lady, I really do, and really hoped the article would end after it was announced she was pretty much fine. But, now try to glean as much money as you can from an incident that sometimes happens in a place called Life. It can usually be found just over your phone's keyboard. Yet seems to happen to weather you glance up or not.

[eBob1]

Both are to blame. The area should have been cordoned off before the manhole cover was removed, but the girl should have been paying attention to where she was walking. I always hate nitwits who walk around the city completely oblivious to what is going on around them. Usually it's tourists staring up at the buildings or locals wearing headphones listening to their music.

[ChrisNap1]

Well, the question I have to ask is even with the manhole "coned" up, would she even have noticed the cones? While I do agree that they shouldn't have opened up the manhole without the proper notices in place, I still don't think it would have matter because she was so oblivious to her surroundings. And I do hope that we as a society will start to care about people again more than we care about suing everyone for our obvious stupidity.

[spicypomegranate]

Then she probably would have tripped over one of the cones instead, and with her hands being occupied texting, she would be unable to break her fall and probably land on her face, maybe breaking her nose or chipping a tooth or two. Her mother would sue the workers for putting up cones in such a dangerous spot. People like that always find a way/excuse.

They really should let it go and let her daughter move on instead of dragging this thing on.

[theunclesam]

Maybe what we could do is this: When you use your cell phone, a protective bubble surrounds you and makes you stop. Then you can call, text or whatever, while this bubble is around you.

I mean, obviously this is a serious problem that needs a serious solution. If the technology isn't quite there to do this yet, maybe we could just use a new law instead...

[monkeyfun14]

I guess people sue for anything. The mom doesn't genuinely care she just wants money.

I don't think a lawsuit requesting money should be filed for something that had no monetary damages. Only thing this lady should get is a 25 cent reimbursement for the bandaids she used.

[stepyourgameup]

Oh that's funny.

[johndifo]

Streets are not designed to walk with eyes closed.

[fcz1]

Yeah. Blind people need to stay locked up indoors at all times.

[Dalkorian]

Blind people can't see with their eyes, but the are paying attention. This girl can't make that claim. Comparing a brainless idiot with a person with disabilities is rather disgusting of you.

[proczach]

and with suing, they're teaching their daughter a good life lesson, to be a pathetic social parasite loser

[4score20]

Texting while walking is an impairment and a potential hazard to both you and the other pedestrians. You shouldn't do it walking or driving and if you do you're responsible if you hurt yourself or others. But in this case we have a situation where stupid (the teen) meets neglectful (the city workers) and the city is liable for leaving the manhole cover off and unguarded. This is a win-able case for the plaintiff.

[CylonCheese]

She should definitely sue. A worker should have been standing at the hole watching out until they could put up a proper barricade. It doesn't matter if she was texting, picking her nose, watching a plane hit a building... whatever. Maybe a tougher aptitude test for city workers before they are let loose on the street?!?

[aaron_van]

You have just described everything that is wrong with society today... American's (and yes I'm American) in general suffer from a lack of self responsibility. We take an "It's not my fault because... (insert your excuses here)" and then we go out and file a lawsuit because we also have an entitlement complex as apposed to asking ourselves "How can I go out and EARN my money/respect today."

If you re-read the article you will notice that the DEP was quick to acknowledge that their workers were in the wrong and that they would investigate the matter from within. As a member of the U.S. Army, I can tell you that these internal investigations (for something this benign) would likely be counseling and training from within to ensure that the incident does not repeat itself.

For those who relate WWT to being blind, shame on you. I think the comment was made earlier that blind is not a choice. Situational awareness, aka: paying attention is. You should be ashamed of yourself for comparing somebody who has no choice to somebody who chooses not to make a choice.

In closing, kudos to twburger, outlaw26r, johndifo, 4score20, nexgenmax, and eric_moseman (good look with your 5 year old), for all making valid and, what I often wish were, obvious points. biffhenerson, do we have a Darwin nominee?

[DonP_WinterGarden]

I've read a couple of "what if she were blind" posts and thought to myself, "don't the blind have walking sticks?" I bet a blind person would have been more observant and avoided the hole.

[nexgenmax]

This is a bit ridiculous. If you walk on the street, you better watch where you're going. Do we need signs everywhere showing "watch out", "watch your head", "careful it's hot coffee" etc. On this issue, both party at fault. One, not attending the opened manhole. Two, the girl who was walking while texting at the same time. Bet if there's a cone there, she wouldn't have seen it. Lucky she's not seriously injured falling 4-5ft into a manhole.

Suing is not going to solve anything. It's better that both parties really pay attention on what they're doing. It's easier to ban texting while walking. Pretty much do it at your own risk. Don't be spoiled since we can sue almost anything. Use common sense, when you're walking on the street, pay attention. When you're working, what else, pay attention. =)

[protagonistic]

The mother is right, "Something like that should never have happened". If the idiot mother had been a good parent the girl would not have been texting while walking on a busy street. But the mother seems to be very focused. She seems intent on making as much money out of this as she can.

[Eric_Moseman]

We are a shameful society.

I have learned that there are two things you cannot regulate out of life: stupidity and malevolence. The workers were trying to do the right thing. Could they have moved more quickly, or posted one guy at the manhole? Sure. I do, however, have my doubts that the cones would have stopped the girl from getting dipped in shtuff.

I would think that the girl likely will learn not to be stupid in this manner in the future. I am not so naive to blame the parents, except perhaps for a genetic deficiency in the brains department. I can say that, despite my frequent warnings, often very loud warnings, my five year old has, believe it or not, made some bad decisions. I know that she will make more, though I have tried to teach her the best I can.

I really hope I can teach her to take responsibility for her own stupidity, and not to sue others for her own bad choices. Perhaps we all should.

Eric

[biffhenerson]

(1) Place Cones, (2) Remove Manhole Cover. Not the other way around. Duh! Texting while walking is just another way for nature to weed out the stupid. Natural selection helps ensure that the genetically strong plants and animals survive and the others die off. Who's to blame? The City. But the girl may never live long enough to collect a dime if she walks out in front of a bus.

[SPARTAN VI]

DEP should sue the girl for soiling perfectly good sewage with her stupidity.

[SBA119]

Suing? wow i agree with twburger there is no self responsibility in the U.S. culture no more. People are just looking for anything to sue companies in order to get some cash. if this was a car accident they would blame the driver right away for even having the phone in his/her hand and this should be treated the same way. And if this was in any other country there wouldnt be even an article about it, there would just be a lot of people looking down at the girl in the hole and laughing end of story.

[gggg sssss]

The city should sue the mother for letting her nuisace daughter out on the street.

[scrobbs]

Had she been my daughter, my only comment to her would have been "when you are not paying attention $h*t happens !!". I think the punishment suited the crime. Stupidity never pays. Perhaps the girl learned a valuable lesson and saying a lawsuit is about to happen makes her mother look like the bigger idiot. How did blindness *even* come into play here ? Come on people.......she wasn't hurt.