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EXCLUSIVE: Student Talks About Getting Knocked Out By Plummeting Mattress In Manhattan

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A college student is alive after a mattress fell 30 stories onto his head. The young man was knocked unconscious, but miraculously survived without serious injury.

Jesse Owen said most students land on a futon mattress sometime in their college career, but he never imagined he'd have a futon mattress land on him instead.

"I'm happy. I'm lucky to be alive," Owen told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez on Wednesday night.

The King's College student just finished class on Tuesday afternoon and was walking along Broad Street in Lower Manhattan when the mattress, possibly from a rooftop spa, fell some 30 stories off a building onto Owen's head.

"I definitely felt something nail me in the head and then it was like 'swoomp' and I was just out," Owen said.

The freshman was knocked unconscious and had no idea what happened when he opened his eyes to see several people at his side trying to help him.

"I wake up a couple seconds later and people are pushing me onto a mattress, But like 'Don't move, don't move.' And I'm like 'What happened? Why am I on a mattress?' And they're like, 'It just fell on you and knocked you out,'" Owen said.

Jesse Owen
Jesse Owen (credit: CBS 2)

Owen was taken to the hospital, but, surprisingly, didn't suffer any serious injuries. The aspiring journalist from central Florida said he now has plenty of material to write home about.

"I got into class today and people were clapping for me. People brought me food and everyone's hugging me. They're like 'You're alive! You're alive!' So it was an exciting experience," Owen said.

Owen said he'll be looking up a lot more often when he walks around the city and, though he's owned a futon before, he's hoping there's no more futons in his future.

Owen suffered a sprained neck.  There was no immediate confirmation as to where the mattress came from or how it fell off the rooftop.

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