Less than 6 inches, he's very lucky to have survived. Trucks and buses are two of the most dangerous vehicles on the road in terms of the driver's visibility in tight city traffic. I've always had a fear of being trapped between 2 buses, I used to have to go through a situation like that on my old commute and 9 times out of 10, I'd err on the side of caution and just stay behind the bus or even swerve out to the other side.

Anyways, if anyone knows the messenger, someone posted this on ABC's news site so I'm just passing it on. The guy might qualify for financial aid from the bicycle messenger emergency fund. Please pass this onto him if you know him. http://www.bicyclemessenger.com/