Woman Falls Through Hole In Sewer Grate While Talking On Cell Phone, Becomes Trapped
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Hazelwood woman on her way to meet a friend for coffee Tuesday morning never made it after she fell through a hole in a sewer grate and her leg became trapped.
"As I was walking, I was talking on the phone, and I took a step and I was in the sewer from my knee down, and I couldn't get out," said Patrice Church, the woman who fell into the grate.
Church says that her morning began around 9:30 a.m. as she walked down Glenwood Avenue. When she fell, her phone was knocked out of reach.
"I was panicked," Church said.
She started yelling for help, and when a contractor working on a nearby house heard her, he tried to pull her out, but could not. That's when he called 911.
"They sent the fire department first. Initially, they wanted to put their jackets on top of me and cut me out, and they decided to wait until paramedics came to figure out which avenue they wanted to take," said Church. "That's when it was decided they would use the spreaders, the jaws of life to open up the grates to pull me out."
It took crews about 15 minutes to free the woman.
Many in the Hazelwood neighborhood where it happened say they have complained about the damaged grate over the drain cover, along with two others on the street.
"I called 311," said Joe Hepner, of Hazelwood. "I called the mayor's service center, and I called the Pittsburgh Water Authority."
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
"Somewhere down the line, someone needs to be held accountable for this," said Church. "It's not like you're just finding out about this; you've had complaints."
Hours later, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority crews were on the scene replacing the grates. They'll return Wednesday morning to finish the replacements.
Church suffered a sprained knee.
She was treated at UPMC Mercy Hospital, and says she will be off of work while her injury heals.
