Trash Pile Saves NYC Suicide Jumper

A young man who recently completed psychiatric treatment suffered another failed suicide attempt Sunday when he tried to jump from his family's apartment building on West 45th Street in Manhattan—only to land in a cushy pile of garbage bags. Vangelis Kapatos, 26, was facing eviction from a rent-stabilized apartment when he decided to jump nine stories, after a string of unsuccessful attempts to kill himself. Thanks to last week's blizzard, which handicapped garbage pickup, over 100 bags of trash had piled up on the Midtown sidewalk, breaking Kapatos' fall and saving his life. His mother had moved back to Greece four years ago and his ailing father was recently placed in a nursing home. Kapatos had been living alone, and his landlord had just begun proceedings to kick him out of a $572-a-month apartment.