Woman Who Fell Through UES Sidewalk Credits Her Size With Saving Her Life
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The woman who fell through a sidewalk on the Upper East Side Friday evening said her large size may have saved her life.
Ulanda Williams of Springfield Gardens, Queens told the New York Post that a thinner woman might have died in the six-foot fall through the sidewalk that she took.
Williams, 32, who weighs 400 pounds, was released from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital on Saturday.
"Thank God, they said that my size was the only thing that saved me," she told the Post.
She fell through the sidewalk near Atomic Winds and the Blue Room on the corner of 60th Street and 2nd Avenue while waiting for the bus.
According to the Post, Williams broke her arm in two places and had cuts and bruises all over her face and neck.
The social worker said there were no warning signs before she fell through the sidewalk.
"Nothing, nothing," she told the Post. "It happened so instantly that I didn't even recognize anything. Cement was all over me, debris. They had a bed frame down there, broken pipes and wood pieces. It was a hollow place."
"I was standing there approximately 10 seconds and when that occurred, I just fell right through," said Williams.
The FDNY had to use a crane and cargo net to get Williams out. She stands about 6 feet 5 inches tall.
Inspectors with the Department of Buildings determined defective steel doors and a first-floor staircase were loose, leading to the collapse of a four-foot by six-foot section of sidewalk, the Post reported.
The building has several other violations, according to the DOB website.
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