May 18, 2007 6:24 am US/Eastern
Woman Falls Through Sidewalk Grate In Midtown
by Tamsen Fadal
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Rescuers transport a woman to a waiting ambulance after she fell through a sidewalk grate in midtown Manhattan, May 17, 2007.
CBS
Shortly after seven in the morning, a woman was walking along the sidewalk on West 51st St. when the grating she walked over collapsed beneath her and she dropped 12-feet.
According to Con Edison, the hinges on the grating that covers a transformer vault underground, gave way. Crews were called to turn off the power so firefighters could pull her up from beneath the sidewalk.
"I was walking in front of her and all of a sudden I heard somebody yelling, somebody fell, and I turned around and there was a hole in the ground," said Danny Bancherd. "That's when I ran over, saw it and ran to my job and called 911."
The woman was conscious when she was removed from the hole and taken away by ambulance. People in the area were shocked and worried.
"So many people walk on them all day long and the weight that goes by it everyday, you take it for granted they are safe," said Neil Lestrange. "And sometimes they give way like it did today."
"You walk up and down these streets all the time you never think about that, but I guess anything could happen," said Curt Bell.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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