A New York City man who jumped 39 storeys from the rooftop of an apartment building on Tuesday has survived after crashing into a parked car.

Witnesses and police said Thomas Magill, 22, jumped from the highrise at West 63rd Street, crashed into the windshield of a Dodge Charger and landed in the back seat.

He suffered broken legs and is in critical condition, police said.

Earlier reports said he had jumped 40 storeys.

The car's owner, Guy McCormack, of Old Bridge, N.J., told the New York Daily News he's convinced the rosary beads he keeps inside the Dodge saved Magill's life.

Police are investigating why Magill jumped from the building.

Magill isn't the only New Yorker to survive a highrise fall.

Window washer Alcides Moreno fell 47 storeys from the roof of a skyscraper in December 2007, and doctors expected him to walk again.