N.Y. teen failed to notice open manhole

NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- A 15-year-old girl in New York suffered some scrapes after falling through an open manhole she completely overlooked, her mother says.

Kim Longueira of Staten Island said her daughter Alexa suddenly found the ground was no longer below her moments after a friend handed her a cell phone, the New York Daily News said Saturday.

"She's all scraped up on her back, under her arms and her shoulders," Longueira said of the injuries her daughter suffered in Wednesday's accident.

Longueira said her doctors are concerned the teen may have suffered spinal damage in the fall of up to five feet.

New York's WPIX-TV reported the teen's family is prepared to sue since Department of Environmental Protection workers allegedly left the open sewer manhole unsupervised.

"DEP workers learn safety first... but there was no safety measures put into place here," alleged Longueira, who denied reports her daughter had been text-messaging at the time of the accident.