<SMALL>FOX-AP| January 21, 2007</SMALL>
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Man Falls From 17th Floor at Minneapolis Hotel, Survives
MINNEAPOLIS — A Wisconsin man in town for a dart tournament apparently was goofing around Saturday morning at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency when he crashed through a window and fell 16 stories.
The man, identified in a police report as 29-year-old Joshua S. Hanson, of Blair, Wis., landed on a roof overhang near the hotel's main entrance along Nicollet Mall. His most serious injury was a broken leg.
The man must have "an angel on his shoulder or something," said Minneapolis police Lt. Dale Barsness. "He's a lucky guy."
He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. His condition was not immediately known.
According to the police report, Hanson and two friends were out drinking and returned to the Hyatt about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
They might have been horsing around as they took an elevator to the 17th floor, Barsness said. For some reason, Hanson ran from the elevator and down a short hallway toward a floor-to-ceiling window, he said. He apparently lost his balance and crashed through the glass, landing through the awning of the overhang below.
Rescue crews extricated him from the awning and metal grating while paramedics worked to stabilize him, said Assistant Fire Chief Ulie Seal. He was strapped on a backboard and brought down in a fire truck basket, he said.
"This has never happened before," said Tom Mason, general manager of the Hyatt.
The window was double-paned, and had a safety bar, he said, adding that hotel officials will investigate and "will take whatever steps we have to do to ensure safety.
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All fun and games till someone plummets 17 stories.
<SMALL></SMALL>
Man Falls From 17th Floor at Minneapolis Hotel, Survives
MINNEAPOLIS — A Wisconsin man in town for a dart tournament apparently was goofing around Saturday morning at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency when he crashed through a window and fell 16 stories.
The man, identified in a police report as 29-year-old Joshua S. Hanson, of Blair, Wis., landed on a roof overhang near the hotel's main entrance along Nicollet Mall. His most serious injury was a broken leg.
The man must have "an angel on his shoulder or something," said Minneapolis police Lt. Dale Barsness. "He's a lucky guy."
He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. His condition was not immediately known.
According to the police report, Hanson and two friends were out drinking and returned to the Hyatt about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
They might have been horsing around as they took an elevator to the 17th floor, Barsness said. For some reason, Hanson ran from the elevator and down a short hallway toward a floor-to-ceiling window, he said. He apparently lost his balance and crashed through the glass, landing through the awning of the overhang below.
Rescue crews extricated him from the awning and metal grating while paramedics worked to stabilize him, said Assistant Fire Chief Ulie Seal. He was strapped on a backboard and brought down in a fire truck basket, he said.
"This has never happened before," said Tom Mason, general manager of the Hyatt.
The window was double-paned, and had a safety bar, he said, adding that hotel officials will investigate and "will take whatever steps we have to do to ensure safety.
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All fun and games till someone plummets 17 stories.
