A mother loses her own life to save two of her children as their apartment caught fire.
Phillip Blanks catches a toddler thrown by his mother from a burning apartment
A 28-year-old athlete was at home when he heard loud screams of cries and apathy from a nearby building, only to see a mother and her baby trapped in their burning apartment.
The mother was completely covered in flames and flung her child to safety from her balcony which is 30-feet above ground, hoping that he would be saved. Luckily, the baby was miraculously saved by Phillip Blanks as he caught the baby in his arms after the toddler was thrown from the burning building by his mother.
Instinctively, Blanks, after seeing the baby tossed in the air, ran barefoot in a swift response only to have the toddler saved perfectly landing in his hands.
Blanks , who is also a Retired US Marine credited his swift action to his athletic skills acquired as a footballer which came handy in making quick decision, which he put to good use to dive and save the child.
“He was twirling in the air like a propeller. I just did my best. His head landed perfectly on my elbow. His ankle got twisted up as I was diving. There wasn’t much thinking. I just reacted. I just did it,” he told WABC.
“I know how to catch. I learned how to catch a football. So I’ll give some credit to football,” he said. When asked how did he immediately prepare for the catch, Blanks said, ”Instinct. There wasn’t much thinking. I just reacted. I just did it.”
In a rather tragic twist, the mother of the toddler, who was identified as Rahel Long was trapped in the flames and lost her life. After throwing her son to safety from her apartment, she rushed inside her home to save her daughter Roxanne.
Roxanne survived the flames but is now hospitalized and in critical condition undergoing eight surgeries. Her son also remains hospitalized but is out of danger. The deceased Rachel Long’s husband Corey Long is now homeless and children hospitalized.
A GoFundMe page is created to help the family financially in their difficult times and people are donating generously. ”Eyewitnesses stated that Rachel was on fire at that time, but rather than jumping herself to safety, she went back in for her daughter Roxanne and sadly, did not return,” the description reads.
Blanks called Rachel the real hero of the story as she did the ultimate sacrifice of losing her own life to save the lives of her children. “She’s the real hero of the story” he said, ”because she made the ultimate sacrifice to save her children.”
