New Jersey Man Falls 9 Stories From High Rise Onto BMW, Survives

New Jersey Man Falls 9 Stories From High Rise Onto BMW, Survives
A police car in a file photo. (Mira Oberman/AFP/Getty Images)
Isabel van Brugen
10/8/2021
Updated:
10/8/2021

A New Jersey man survived a fall from a nine-story high rise in Jersey City after landing on a parked BMW on Wednesday morning, according to bystanders and officials.

Witness Christina Smith, 21, told the New York Post that she heard the moment the man, 31, crashed through the roof of the vehicle parked below the high rise at roughly 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday.

“I heard a big boom and I didn’t think it was a person at first,” Smith told the Post. “The back window of the car just busted out—exploded. Then the guy jumped up and started screaming. His arm was all twisted. I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ I was shocked. It was like being in a movie.”

Smith said he stood up and asked, “What happened?” shortly after his fall from 26 Journal Square.

“I was thinking, thank God, it probably helped that he had a fluffy jacket on,” Smith said, adding she believed the coat may have cushioned the impact of the fall.

“The sound was very loud. He was screaming ‘help,’” Smith told the Hudson Valley Daily Voice. “I was trying to tell him to calm down and stop moving.”

The witness said she quickly called emergency services to report the incident before taking photographs and video footage of the scene.

According to the Post, the man was rushed to a nearby hospital and was reportedly in critical condition as of Thursday.

Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione told the news outlet that authorities are investigating the incident, but said police do not believe the incident does not involve involve any indication of foul play.

An unnamed source familiar with the case told the news outlet that the man refused to identify himself and was being uncooperative as of Thursday afternoon.

Jersey City police temporarily closed roads near the building on Wednesday, including the Journal Square PATH Station and Hudson County Community College, according to the Post.