Woman falls through open sidewalk while looking at her cell phone (VIDEO)

PLAINFIELD — The family of a woman who fell into an opening in a sidewalk says she is legally blind.

The 67-year-old woman was seen in surveillance video walking down Somerset Street  and looking at her phone Thursday afternoon. She tripped over an open access door and plunged six feet into the basement of a window pane store.

Her son told CBS New York his mother, who is visiting from Florida, has trouble seeing blended colors. She is also diabetic and felt nauseated at the time of the incident. She has a schedule to take meals and looked at her phone to check the time.

Officials say the access door was open because utilities workers were working on gas lines. There were no warning signs on the sidewalk.

The woman was still in serious condition Thursday night, after being transported from the scene on a stretcher by paramedics.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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