A California window washer is lucky to be alive Friday after falling 11 stories and landing on top of a moving car, police said.
The unidentified man and a partner were setting up a washing platform on the roof of a San Francisco building at around 10 a.m. when he somehow fell over, Lieutenant Edward DelCarlo of the San Francisco Police Department told USA Today.
The man landed on top of a moving Toyota, crushing the vehicle's roof and back window before bouncing onto the pavement. Witnesses rushed to help the man and directed oncoming traffic until police arrived, CBS San Francisco reported.
"I was actually looking in the direction of where the fellow fell off the building and I saw something blue out of the corner of my eye falling and then I heard the loud thud and the shattering of the back of the car," witness Sam Hartwell told the station.
Blood was gushing from his ears and he was frothing at the mouth, Hartwell told the station.
"He understood what was going on," Hartwell said. "We spoke to him in reassuring terms. I hope he's going to be okay."
DelCarlo said the victim was conscious when an ambulance came and rushed him to San Francisco General Hospital. He is in stable but critical condition, USA Today reported.
The driver of the Toyota was not injured during the incident in San Francisco's financial district.
The street where the building the man fell off is located, California Street, was shut down as investigators try to determine what caused the near-fatal plunge.
The incident comes a week after two New York City window washers were trapped for over an hour high up Manhattan's new World Trade Center after the platform cables malfunctioned. Firefighters were able to save their lives.
