NYC Man Survives 9-Story Fall Thanks to Trash

NEW YORK - Authorities in New York City say a troubled man who tried to jump to his death from his ninth floor apartment was saved by a heap of trash bags that had gone uncollected since last week's blizzard.

Fire officials say the 26-year-old was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan shortly after noon on Sunday. He was listed in critical but stable condition.

His aunt, Katharina Capatos, told the New York Post it was lucky the city had the snow and hadn't cleared the garbage.

She said her nephew told her recently that he was worried about being evicted from his rent-stabilized apartment.

The Christmas weekend blizzard dumped more than 20 inches of snow on the city, halting sanitation collections for a week, resulting in piles of trash bags on city sidewalks.

The city resumed limited garbage pickup on Monday.