Ex-college WR catches child thrown from burning building
Warning: Video contains sensitive content
A former college football player was captured on video catching a 3-year-old boy thrown from the balcony of a burning third-floor apartment in Phoenix.
Phillip Blanks, who played wide receiver at Saddleback College in Southern California from 2016-17 and also served in the U.S. Marines, told ABC7.com that he was at home July 3 when he heard a commotion outside. After hearing someone yell that there was a fire, he ran out to help.
"Instinct. There wasn't much thinking. I just reacted. I just did it," the 28-year-old Blanks said. "I know how to catch. I've learned how to catch a football. So I'll give some credit to football."
LIFESAVING CATCH: Eyewitness video shows Phillip Blanks – a former college wide receiver – sprint to the scene of a third-floor apartment fire in Phoenix before catching a small child thrown from a balcony; the mother of the child did not survive. https://t.co/CyIuiva87p pic.twitter.com/egzOxE5bFr
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) July 7, 2020
Tragically, the boy's mother died in the fire.
"She's the real hero of the story," Blanks said. "Because she made the ultimate sacrifice to save her children."