Texting woman injured in fall through sidewalk access door.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

PLAINFIELD, New Jersey (WABC) -- A woman was injured in New Jersey Thursday afternoon when she fell 6 feet through a sidewalk access door while distracted by her cell phone.

The incident happened just after noon in front of Acme Windows on Somerset Street in Plainfield.

Authorities say the 67-year-old woman appeared to be texting when she fell through the open bilco doors.

http://abc7ny.com/news/texting-woman-seriously-hurt-in-fall-through-sidewalk-access-door-/2072622/

[jberryhill]

1. Good thing nobody with a visual impairment came by

Is it normal to leave these things open with no sort of barrier?

[Floyd R. Turbo]

2. When in NYC I frequently see them open.

[snooper2]

3. Her visual impairment was being glued to her stupid smartphone, so one did come by

A blind person would have detected this obstruction in their path.

[jberryhill]

6. There are all kinds of visual impairments

And leaving an unattended falling hazard like that in a sidewalk is not justified by someone who was looking at a smartphone.

[tblue37]

10. Here at Kansas University, a blind man was injured years ago falling through an open maintenance

hole. The university stonewalled him when he tried to get compensation for his medical bills.

[demmiblue]

13. According to her son, she does have a visual impairment (legally blind):

“When I first saw the video, my heart dropped,” the woman’s son said. “It was painful to watch.”

The woman’s son said there is a lot more to the story than just another person distracted by a cellphone. He said his mother is legally blind and diabetic.

“”She regularly takes on schedule her meals and checks her sugar. As far as I was told, when she was walking down the street, she felt a little nauseous in a sense, and looked at her phone to see what time it was,” the woman’s son said.

...

The woman’s son said she has trouble seeing blended colors, and wishes workers had put up some type of indicator or cones to alert people to be careful.

...

Police said the woman was seriously hurt, but is now in stable condition. Her son said she was visiting from Florida, and he will be flying up tomorrow to be with her.


http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/06/08/woman-falls-through-cellar-door/?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313

[Lochloosa]

4. There should have been cones and/or barricades in front of that.

You can see someone with a hard hat in the hole.

[LOL Lib]

5. No sympathy...sorry.

Walking while under the influence of a smart phone.

[demmiblue]

14. Quelle surprise.

[LOL Lib]

16. It's all fun and texts until somebody loses a hip.

Personal responsibility be damned!

[MineralMan]

7. I hope she wasn't badly injured.

Walking while texting is really, really dangerous. I'd never do it, frankly.

[Madam45for2923]

8. She was stupid, but I hope she is OK too! At any age a fall is bad news!

[snooper2]

9. People are horrible about doing it in the grocery store

Traffic supposed to move on right and left hand side of aisles. I see people all the time, every time at the store walking right down the middle tapping away on their phone while not looking.

My new thing is I stay to the far right and just stop my cart and stand there without saying a word. Wait for it, wait for it, BAM they hit my cart with their cart, look up, Oh SORRY LOL.


It's awesome

[BumRushDaShow]

11. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I should do that!

[MineralMan]

12. Yah, supermarkets.

I try to go to mine at times when it's less crowded, but still always get held up in aisles by people who park their cart in the middle of the aisle and then wander off to get things from the shelves. It's frustrating. Sometimes, I'll move the cart so I can get by, but that often leads to the person getting nasty about someone touching their cart.

Other times, a couple will be shopping with the two people walking or standing side-by-side and blocking the entire aisle. I've pretty much given up, really. What I often do is just turn around and move on to another aisle and come back later. People are there with ear buds in their ears, so they can't hear you say, "Excuse me" and move out of the way. Or, they're texting and not paying any attention to anything at all.

I've finally decided just to let them all be and pick my way through the store, returning to blocked aisles later after picking something up in another aisle.

I NEVER, EVER go to the supermarket on weekend afternoons. It is insanity at those times, with entire families blocking almost every aisle. It's just not worth the trouble.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. That workspace should be roped off and I'm a little shocked that it's not.