Tape measure falls from 50 story skyscraper, killing delivery man

A delivery man died after a tape measure fell 50 stories and hit him on the head.

The freak accident happened after the worker unfastened the measuring tape clipped to his work belt and it slipped out of his hands as he was about to use it.

Witnesses told the New York Post that the 58-year-old victim, who was delivering materials to the construction site, wasn’t wearing his hard hat at the time, having left it in the back of his car.

It fell more than 150 metres, striking a piece of construction metal before hitting the victim on the head officials said.

It’s estimated the tape measure would have been falling at nearly 225km/h when it hit the piece of metal, City College professor Robert Alfano told The Post.

The tool ricocheted off the metal and smashed into victim Gary Anderson, who had been leaning into a car window to talk to someone and had just pulled his head out when he was struck.