By Darian Stevenson
syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A woman fell into a storm drain in downtown Syracuse this weekend after a man removed the top grate, police said.
The woman, Keleigh Webber, 34, of Syracuse, stepped off a curb near the Centro Transit Hub and fell into the sewer, Syracuse police spokesman Lt. Matthew Malinowski said Sunday.
Webber fell about 15 feet when she stepped into the sewer around 4:15 p.m. Saturday near the bus station at 599 S. Salina St.
She was too injured to climb up a ladder, Syracuse Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Matthew Craner said. A firefighter attached to ropes was sent down the hole.
She was pulled up in a harness attached to a pulley system around 4:45 p.m., Craner said.
Webber was taken to Upstate University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Malinowski said. She suffered pain in her right leg and arm, he said.
Stuart Seidel, 45, of Syracuse, was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment for removing the grate, Malinowski said.
He said it is not clear why Seidel opened the storm drain.
Seidel is being held in the the Onondaga County Justice Center. He was arraigned this morning.
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