Also from a couple years ago: Texting Man Avoids One Train, Struck By Another - http://www.wlwt.com/news/13930136/detail.html

You've got to be fucking kidding me. She can't be bothered to watch where she's walking, and that's someone else's fault?

Teen finds herself in a world of shit, news at 11.

If this had been a younger kid, there would've been serious hell to pay. But in this case, shared responsibility perhaps.

Regardless if she's texting or not, if she can't see a big dark two foot wide hole right in front of her, I doubt she would see an orange cone either. I know the city workers made a big mistake, but seriously people, pay some attention to your surroundings. Either that or maybe you should be in a child-proof padded bubble.

AND she lost one shoe. Wow.

I suspect that even if the cones were in place she would have tripped over those and then gone head first into the sewer.

It's her responsibility to watch where she's going because you can't expect safety cones around every hazard. What if some kids had removed the manhole cover as a prank? Or if there was a plank of wood with a nail sticking up from it that had fallen from a garbage truck? Or a thousand other possible hazards that can be found on most city streets?

You're way too hard on her, that could've happened to almost anyone who wasn't paying attention. I mean, it's not like people are always on full alert and ready for anything. Especially when it comes to things that we take for granted, like manholes not being open. Not to mention how small those things are, which doesn't exactly help in warning people off.

She could've been doing a plethora of other things instead of texting on her phone, that's not what's important. The relevant thing to take into consideration is that she was focusing on something else for a moment. Had there been cones around the manhole then this would've been another story altogether, but that's not the case.

What a twit.

^ I don't think I'm being too hard on her. I do admit that it was pretty stupid and probably criminally negligible on the part of the city workers, but a big gaping hole in the ground shouldn't be that easy to miss. As far as her focusing on something else for a moment, this is something she should have seen in the distance. It didn't just jump out at her. I also agree that she could have been doing other things instead of texting but that would have been just as bad. I've seen people reading books while walking and thought that was pretty retarded too.

She is lucky she's still alive. Earlier in the year here, some girl was too busy texting to realize that she walked into traffic, walked INTO THE SIDE OF a moving truck and was killed. All I'm saying is that people should have a basic awareness of what's around them otherwise shit like this happens.

Agree with the person above. If you fall in a hole, it's not anyone's fault but your own. Maybe if your riding a bike and it's dark out then it would be excusable to blame someone else. But walking along in daylight and not even looking where your going is an accident waiting to happen.... (get it?!?!? cuz it did happen!!!!)

Sue the City. and use the "s**t-money" to bankroll a orange-cones 'education' course for the city workers.

Dear LORD, I hate that accent. And medical bills are "mounting"? You didn't break any bones. You're getting an MRI? If doctors thought you were even close to needing one, you would have had one when you went to the hospital.

And now that I've watched the video, I can say with full ease that she's an idiot and deserved what she got. You were walking toward a couple of city workers in the process of doing something with the manhole. They were only ten feet away. That means there was a big white truck that probably had flashing amber lights and the workers most likely had orange vests. Nevermind the obvious noise involved with removing a cover. Also, we can know safely assume that the workers weren't just dicking around at the truck when they went for the cones, or the mother would have been sure to mention that. From that, we know that the girl wasn't very far away from the hole when the workers left to get it, because the time window to walk ten feet, grab shit, and walk back is NOT very big.

Any news on the shoe?