Man catches toddler dropped from balcony of burning apartment

PHOENIX (KION and WWMT) A former wide receiver from Kalamazoo Central and retired U.S. Marine was caught on camera diving to catch a boy dropped from the balcony of a burning building.

On Friday, Philip Blanks caught the 3-year-old when he was dropped from a third floor apartment in Phoenix.

"People were screaming 'there are kids up there' and to throw the kids down," Blanks said. "I saw another guy was standing there ready to catch the boy, but he didn't look like he was going to do it, so I stepped in front of him. The way I caught him damaged his foot, but the most important thing is his head was safe."

Blanks said he was in the area to go workout with a friend who lived in the complex when he heard the screaming.

News outlets in Phoenix report that the boy and his 8-year-old sister were critically injured, but their mother did not survive.

Blanks said he has made it his mission to find the children and their father and help them as much as he can.