NEW YORK (UPI) -- A New York businessman stepped outside an off-track betting facility, lit a cigar, and fell through a rusted-out metal sidewalk plate, officials said.
Vincent Riggio, 59, fell 30 feet into the basement of a clothing store in the TriBeCa area when the corroded metal plate holding the basement's doors in place gave way, the New York Post reported Sunday.
"He came out, he had a cigar, he stepped on the platform and he fell," said Freddy Chew, a deliveryman. "I looked down the hole. He was down there, squatting down. There was a lot of dust."
Chew called 911 and Riggio calmly telephoned his wife to tell her what had happened.
When authorities arrived, one firefighter was lowered by rope into the basemen, put a harness around Riggio, and hoisted him up.
"He was banged up a little bit, but he had no life-threatening injuries," said Battalion Chief James Sheridan.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International
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