Woman focused on phone falls down stairs, dies

SUZHOU (Anhui) • A young woman busy looking at her phone reportedly fell down a flight of stairs to her death in China's eastern Anhui province.

Chinese media reported that the woman was using her phone when she lost her footing and fell down the stairs at an overhead bridge in Suzhou city.

The accident was captured in surveillance camera footage.

An eyewitness told Anhui Television in a report that the woman appeared to be in her 20s.

He said she was looking at her phone when she missed a step and fell down the stairs.

She hit her head in the fall and lost consciousness. She was taken to hospital, but could not be saved.

Smartphone-related incidents have been in the news lately.

In April, a two-year-old boy was run over by a car in Fujian province as the driver was focusing on a phone call.

  • 6,000

    Number of pedestrian deaths in the US last year, the most in over two decades

Such incidents are occurring elsewhere as well. In March, the United States Governors Highway Safety Association said there were 6,000 pedestrian deaths last year, the highest figure in over two decades.

It said the growing use of smartphones by road users was one of the contributing factors as it is a "significant source of distraction for both drivers and pedestrians".

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 18, 2017, with the headline Woman focused on phone falls down stairs, dies. Subscribe