Buford man survives 14-story fall into pool

ORANGE BEACH, ALABAMA - A Buford man survived a 14-story plunge from the roof of a condominium, suffering broken ribs and a collapsed lung after landing in the shallow end of the swimming pool. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m very fortunate to be alive, and very thankful, and I&#39;m very convinced there is a God,&#39;&#39; said Mark Waters, 40, from his room at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola on Wednesday. <br> <br> Waters said he locked himself out of his 10th-floor room and went to the 14th-floor roof to try to climb down to his balcony. He was already hanging on the ledge of the roof before he realized he couldn&#39;t make it, he told the Mobile Register. <br> <br> ``I knew I was going to fall, and I was hoping I would pass out before I hit the ground,&#39;&#39; Waters said. <br> <br> Teresa Ellash of Cincinnati witnessed the fall. <br> <br> ``It was loud - sounded like a refrigerator hit. More of a boom than a splash,&#39;&#39; Ellash said. ``It made us all very sick, watching him fall.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Assistant Police Chief Greg Duck said Waters had been drinking, but did not know his blood-alcohol content at the time of the fall. Waters declined to comment on how much alcohol he had consumed before climbing onto the roof. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s one of those things you wish you&#39;d never done. I&#39;m going to go home and pretend it never happened,&#39;&#39; Waters said.