"Why me?!"

(Above, Tom Magill; at right, Maria McCormack with husband Guy)



There was an amazing story in the NY Post yesterday about a 22 year old man, Tom Magill, who tried to commit suicide by jumping off a 40 story building on the Upper West Side, but landed on a car and survived. He crushed the roof of the car, a Dodge Charger, and wound up on the rear seat cushion, which is what probably saved his life.

According to the Post:

"Doctors at St. Luke's Hospital initially doubted Magill could have dropped from 400 feet -- though multiple witnesses and the eyeglasses he left on the roof prove otherwise, sources said.

"The doctors say it's not as bad as they anticipated. Nothing is as bad as they anticipated," Magill's uncle said yesterday.

Magill had rods inserted in both legs, including his thigh and ankle during an extensive operation Tuesday night. Yesterday, surgeons operated on his groin and chest to relieve the clotting."

It was truly a miracle.

Maria McCormack, the owner of the car, and mother of four, seemed unmoved: "I miss [the car]. It's my baby. I want to meet [Tom Magill] and ask him, 'Why? Why my car out of all the cars in the city?' I wonder how he feels now that he made it. Does he feel like an idiot?"

McCormack complained that she had just had the rear brakes fixed, the oil changed, and the gas tank filled before Magill made his leap. "I was going to get the front brakes done...but thank god I had a migraine! I can't believe my car is gone. I've had other cars, but I really loved this car."

"Why me?" is of course the mantra of all narcissistic personalities who encounter misfortune of any kind. Does she feel that Magill, while trying to take his own life, purposely selected her car in order to get at her somehow? The idea that a complete stranger would have even considered her would only occur to a complete narcissist.

And most people, even if they were peeved about their ruined car (the insurance covered all but $500 of it), would at least have the grace to pretend that they were concerned about Magill and happy that he survived. But McCormack is too piggish to even bother with that.

I'm guessing, judging from the picture of Magill above, that he may be gay and that his sexuality may have contributed to his despondence. (There's a higher suicide rate among gays.) Here's hoping he comes to terms with those issues and lives a long, happy life -- and that he gets to dine out on that miracle for the rest of his life.

I'm guessing, judging from McCormack's quotes, that her four kids will all want to get out of the house as soon as possible. Here's hoping that every single one of her acquaintances reads those quotes in the Post -- and that she never gets any more sympathy from anybody, ever, than she gave to Magill.

At least one party benefitted from this incident. According to the Post:

"A Dodge spokesman credited the car's 'high-strength steel structure' for helping absorb the blow. 'We are glad that Mr. Magill survived the 40-story free-fall and that our Dodge Charger was able to cushion his landing,' said company spokesman Jiyan Cadiz. 'We hope that Mr. Magill gets well'."

(This is why Cadiz is a company spokesperson and Ms. McCormack is not.)

It is good publicity though. I'm just not quite sure exactly how they'd fashion a commercial out of it.