Window Washer Who Survived 11-Story Fall Is “Stubborn, Strong, Fighting for His Life”

The window washer who fell  about 11 stories in San Francisco last week is a "stubborn, strong man," who is "fighting for his life," according to his family.

The 58-year-old window washer, whose name has not been publicly revealed, has had several surgeries at San Francisco General Hospital and was still in critical condition on Monday, when his family issued a statement by email to the media asking that their privacy be respected.

The statement, provided by the hospital, added that the family is so grateful to everyone at the accident scene at the bottom of the Sterling Bank and Trust building in the 400 block of  Montgomery Street who assisted the window washer when he fell on Friday about 10 a.m.

"We would like to thank everyone at the scene of the accident who helped, especially the nurse who ran to him, the firefighters and the driver of the car that broke his fall," the statement read. "We are amazed that he fell from such a high distance and still survived. Landing on the car really helped, and we are so thankful for that."

The window washer, who is married and has three children, landed on top of a green Toyota Camry, driven by Mohammad Alcozai, who at first thought it was a bicyclist who accidently hit his car. Despite his own car being severely damaged from the fall, Alcozai quickly ran to the man's aid. About 20 others, including a nurse and a retired Army general, were also there helping out.

"He was shaking pretty bad. He was shaking and wasn't able to talk," Alcozai said. "He was breathing hard."

The window washer worked for Century Window Cleaners of Concord, which has been fined for safety violations in the past. A complaint from 2008 resulted in a $2,700 settlement. The state ordered the company to train and “supervise the use of equipment and safety devices to insure that safe working practices are observed.”

NBC Bay Area contacted the company for comment, but the man who answered the phone declined. The company's website states it carries a $5 million worker compensation insurance policy and a $5 million general liability insurance policy.

Cal-OSHA spokesman Peter Melton said on Tuesday that the window washer and his co-worker were helping other workers on a window washing scaffold by moving power cords on the roof. While handling the power cords, Melton said, the window washer fell off the edge of the roof.

The fall comes about two weeks after two window washers were stranded on top of the World Trade Center in New York City. On Nov. 12, two workers were rescued in dramatic fashion after scaffolding collapsed.

Window cleaning is one of the safer industries, according to Stefan Bright, the safety director for the International Window Cleaners Association based in Zanesville, Ohio.

Among the 15,000 to 20,000 professional cleaners working on high-rises each year, there are typically fewer than three fatalities a year, he said.

While figures for window washers specifically were not available, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that seven workers in the janitorial or cleaning professions died as a result of on-the-job injuries sustained while working with scaffolding from 2011 to 2013.

NBC Bay Area's Mark Matthews and Cheryl Hurd, and NBC Universal's Noreen O'Donnell and Torey Van Oot contributed to this report.

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