City faces $100M lawsuit from family of woman who fell into manhole

Background: Teresa Gonzales had a terrifying experience when she fell through an open manhole cover, as seen in the scene captured by WFAA. The incident left Teresa shaken and alarmed.

During a news conference on December 10, Cynthia Gonzales, the daughter of Teresa Gonzales, stood alongside her family’s attorney, Ramez Shamieh, and expressed her grief.

She emotionally stated, “She was my mom,” while emphasizing the unimaginable pain caused by her mother’s tragic death. Cynthia firmly believed that no one should have to endure such a heartbreaking loss.

During a subsequent press conference, Shamieh revealed that additional witnesses from October 22 had come forward following their public announcement.

According to Shamieh, one of these witnesses shared information from a passerby who claimed to have seen the incident.

In an interview with KXAS, a local NBC affiliate, the witness recounted, “There were four workers nearby. The woman called them over and they began accusing each other, saying, ‘I can’t believe you left the manhole cover off.’”

During Shamieh’s second press conference on December 13, the lawyer shared another witness account. The witness claimed that she saw Gonzales fall in, and as she was driving the car, she couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. She did a double take and saw Gonzales desperately clinging on for her life.

Shamieh emphasized the severity of the scene that reportedly led to Gonzales’ death, stating, “This is not just a small sewage hole. It’s a large hole.”

On his law firm’s website, he further clarified the hazardous nature of the location, providing photographic evidence taken a week after the incident, which showed the manhole uncovered and with several gaps in the metal coverings.

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