The surprising reason why Brooklyn Bridge naked nutjob may have survived overwhelmingly fatal plunge
The miraculous survival of a disturbed man who leaped from the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday could have come down to a handful of factors — the likeliest being the precise position of his body when he landed in the East River, an expert told The Post.“Jumping or falling from extreme heights – such as a 270-foot bridge tower – is overwhelmingly fatal,” said Dr.David S.
Shapiro, a trauma surgeon with more than 30 years of experience.“It generates extreme kinetic energy that causes widespread, life-threatening trauma,” added Shapiro, who now works at New England Donor Services.Incredibly, cops said the 44-year-old jumper, identified as Galymzhan Abaildayev, is in stable condition after his 278-foot leap from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge, which Shapiro said could be attributable to several variables, though not many of them likely.The bag Abaildayev was carrying could have served as a “makeshift parachute” that reduced his descent speed just enough to spare his life before he crashed into the water’s surface, which Shapiro said was likely at a speed between 79-87 mph.Another remote possibility is that an object such as a rock could have fallen just ahead of Abaildayev, disturbing and thereby slightly softening the surface of the water, reducing the impact on his body.Shapiro points out that there’s absolutely no evidence that either of those conditions existed, noting Abaildayev’s best, and most likely chance for survival was his body’s position when he entered the water.“If you slap your hand on the water palm down, it makes a big splash … if you hit it vertically like a karate chop you’ll see it slice through the water.The position your body is in when it enters the water makes a big difference.”He made the comparison to cliff-divers, who position their bodies so that they are able to hit the water at speeds up to 60 mph before coming to a near dead stop.“They don’t head-first dive.
If you lock your body in, perfectly straight ver...