Jeb (in black) seconds before crashing into the mountain—video below

Daredevil Jeb Corliss, the 35-year-old who attempted to jump off the Empire State Building in 2006 (only to be stopped and arrested), was in intensive care after a failed leap off of a 3,500-foot mountain in South Africa.

Yesterday Corliss smashed into the side of Table Mountain in South Africa after taking a leap he successfully did last week. This time, he was doing it while HBO film crews were there to document the act. Corliss ended up hospitalized with two broken legs, but a friend says he's in good spirits, and tells the Sun, "I saw him in the emergency room and asked whether I could release details of his condition. He smiled at me and said, 'Tell them I feel the best I ever have.'"

It's not totally clear how the accident happened, right now there are two theories: "It could have been a strange gust of wind; it could be that he got too close to the mountain."

In 2008, when a "No Jump Bill" was introduced following urban stunts like Corliss's on the Empire State Building, the daredevil told us, "It always amazes me how people try to destroy what they can't understand. I think if they could cut the wings off all the birds in the city they probably would. Base jumpers from all over the world have proven that parachutes can be used to get down from the roofs of buildings in a very safe way."