Boxes Of Vegetables Break Woman's 7-Story Fall On UES: Reports

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A woman miraculously survived falling seven stories from an Upper East Side apartment window when her fall was cushioned by boxes containing fruits and vegetables, according to multiple reports.

Barbara Heller, 76, suffered serious injuries but survived after accidentally falling from an open window on First Avenue near East 81st Street, police said. Heller's ex-husband Charles Heller told the Daily News that she landed on a plastic storage bin and then hit produce boxes that were placed on the sidewalk.

Heller told the publication that it was "amazing" that she survived and was able to avoid a head injury. The woman did suffer a broken pelvis, broken rib, pierced lungs and needed back surgery, according to the report.

Heller's friend Kelli Blue told the New York Post that she had opened the window for Heller just before the accidental fall.

"I saw her laying on the sidewalk," Blue told the Post. "I was terrified, and I thought she was dead."

The produce boxes were likely left on the street by employees of the Morton Williams Supermarket on the corner of East 81st Street and First Avenue.