Man survives fall from 17th floor at downtown Minneapolis hotel

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ A man crashed through a double-paned window in a hotel on Saturday and plummeted 16 floors _ but survived when he was caught by a roof overhang. <br/><br/>Joshua S. Hanson, 29, of Blair,

Saturday, January 20th 2007, 7:44 pm

By: News On 6

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ A man crashed through a double-paned window in a hotel on Saturday and plummeted 16 floors _ but survived when he was caught by a roof overhang.

Joshua S. Hanson, 29, of Blair, Wis., was taken to a hospital. Police said his most serious injury from the fall 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.''

According to a police report, Hanson and two friends returned from a night of drinking about 1:30 a.m Saturday. When the elevator reached the 17th floor, Hanson ran down a short hallway toward a floor-to-ceiling window, Barsness said. He apparently lost his balance and crashed through the glass, then fell 300 feet.

The window was double-paned and had a safety bar, said Tom Mason, general manager of the Hyatt.

``This has never happened before,'' said Mason, who added that hotel officials will investigate and take whatever steps to ensure the hotel's safety.