STATEN ISLAND, New York-

I send text messages. So do all my friends, family members, and co-workers. Heck, just a couple of months ago my mom came out of the dark ages and finally joined the party. It seems like nearly everyone sends text messages these days. Shoot, I admit that I even text when I probably shouldn’t be, but don’t we all? For those few out there who don’t know what a text message is, let me briefly explain: A text message is a short written message typed out using the key pad that is typically sent from one cellular phone to another, making brief conversations extremely convenient and even fun.

Some people text 5-10 times a day, while others text hundreds of times a day (I believe I’m in the 25-50 range). There have even been stories of select people (nearly always teenagers) who text thousands of times a day…….yes, I did say thousands). In one case there were a couple of close friends who each sent over 200,000 texts in one month.

However, this is not a story about a teenager who sent an outrageous number of text messages. This is a story about a poor young lady who was so in sync with her cell phone that it nearly killed her. How could a cell phone and text messaging nearly kill someone you ask?

Imagine you’re walking down the street, minding your own business while carrying on a rapid fire texting conversation with your close buddy. You are so good at texting and so is your friend that the conversation moves at a pace not much different than a real phone conversation. You and your phone are one.

The next thing you know the Earth opens up and swallows you whole, leaving you in near darkness, bathing in the smelliest, nastiest bath tub you could ever imagine. This is exactly what happened to Alexa Longueira, a high school sophomore, as she was walking along Victory Boulevard near Travis Avenue on Staten Island.

Alexa later came to find out that two workers with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection inadvertently failed to close the lid on a manhole as they prepared to flush the sewer, also forgetting to secure the area. Alexa, blinded by her phone, was oblivious to her surroundings and plunged down the manhole to near disaster. Luckily, for Alexa, she appeared to only suffer deep cuts and bruises, but was going to have an MRI to make sure she didn’t suffer any spinal injury.

The moral of the story: Never drink and drive and NEVER text and walk.

© 2009 StrangeRush.com

 Print This Strange Story