Man critically hurt jumping 15 stories from Bronx NYCHA apartment building, knocking out gas lines

A man jumped 15 stories from a Bronx NYCHA apartment building early Sunday, crashing through the roof of a utility room and knocking out gas to the complex, FDNY officials said.

Firefighters responded to the Mill Brook Houses tower on St. Ann’s Ave. near E. 135th St. in Mott Haven at 3:05 a.m. after getting calls about an odor of gas.

Emergency personnel evacuated the building and firefighters found the 25-year-old victim, who dislodged or ruptured a gas line when he landed, an FDNY spokesman said.

Medics took the man to Lincoln Hospital in critical condition. Investigators believe the man jumped, an NYPD spokesman said.

“Oh my God, I just seen him yesterday,” said Layonya Johnson, 54, who lives on the 15th floor. “His mother used to live with him years ago but she moved and left the apartment to her son. ... He stayed to himself.”

She and other building residents said they were told they had to leave their building but didn’t learn about the man’s plunge until later in the morning.

“I heard a boom. I didn’t hear anything (like) screams, just a loud boom. I didn’t suspect much of it but it woke me out of my sleep,” said Sheila McCormick, 61, who lives on the 14th floor. “They said someone was hurt but I didn’t know he may have (fallen).”

Utility workers repaired the ruptured gas line and the building’s residents were allowed back inside later Sunday morning, an FDNY spokesman said.