Woman sues city for injuries from fall

staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — A South Side woman has sued the city, claiming it was responsible for her injuries when she stepped out of a car and into a hole “filled in with dirt and other loose material.”

In the suit, filed earlier this week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Rhonda Pierce of Clearmount Drive said she sank into the hole up to her chest on Roxbury Avenue near Homestead Street on Jan. 1, 2008.

The suit, which demands a jury trial and damages in excess of $25,000, said Pierce sustained unspecified “severe personal injuries” and “underwent extensive medical treatment” due to the city’s negligence.

Atty. James E. Lanzo, who filed the lawsuit, did not respond to a request to comment about the case. The suit doesn’t specify the purpose of the excavation, who performed it or how Pierce got out of the hole.

Pierce and Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works, could not be reached to comment. Dan Pribich, deputy city law director, said he isn’t familiar with the puported incident and could not comment.