College freshman nearly killed by falling futon

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A college freshman is laughing off a near-death experience in which he was knocked out cold by a flying futon mattress Tuesday afternoon.

Jesse Scott Owen was walking to class when the futon suddenly landed on his head after a 30-story fall from a roof.

Owen is shaking off the pain, but not the wonderment, of being flattened on Broad Street in Lower Manhattan on his way to Kings College.

"Earlier I realized, like, that's absurd," Owne said. "And then I was cracking up the rest of the day."

Up from Florida just three weeks ago, Owen was walking to class when he suddenly lost consciousness and then woke up on the futon.

When he asked where the mattress came from, a passerby explained it had fallen directly on his head.

"I'm like, uh, okay," he said. "At the time, it made perfect sense. I'm like, of course, a mattress fell on my head. Of course."

Witnesses took care of Owen until emergency responders arrived. They took him to New York Downtown Hospital with a sprained neck and a possible herniated disc.

"I got some X-rays done, an MRI done, for the most part, they say I'm good," he said. "There shouldn't really be much of any problems. And I'm really blessed."

As for the futon, windy weather and a rooftop spa at 40 Broad Street are the likely source.

The New York City Department of Buildings had reportedly sent out a Twitter message to building owners that windy day to secure all property on their roofs.

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new york city, lower manhattan, new york news, anthony johnson

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