Play of the day.

[hbliam]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/03/lawrence_men_pr.html?s_campaign=yahoo


By Brian R. Ballou and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Two men were praised as heroes today after they caught an 18-month-old baby girl who plummeted at least 30 feet from the window of a triple-decker apartment building in Lawrence.

Alex Day, 23, of Lawrence joined Robert Lemire, 45, of Methuen in catching the baby as she hurtled towards the earth Sunday night.

"She looked at me and had a weird look on her face as if to say, 'Wow, all of a sudden I'm down here,' " Day recalled in an interview today. He said he rushed the baby back upstairs to her home. On the stairs, he said, the baby actually started chuckling.

Lemire said he was walking down Haverhill Street at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, talking to a friend on his cellphone about softball practice, when he saw some toys falling out of the window of a three-decker.

"Next thing you know, I hear a baby cry, so I automatically looked there and there was a baby hanging out the window," he said. "So I pretty much bolted across the street."

Lemire opened the door of the house on Haverhill Street, yelled for help, then returned underneath the window and tried to call 911. Day, who had been in a Bible study session on the first floor, joined him and Lemire soon warned him, "Here she comes."

The baby fell through the air and when she landed, "he pretty much got the top and I got the diaper end, or the bottom half, or whatever you call it," Lemire said.

Lemire, a home remodeling contractor who is married with two children, 13 and 16, said, "I was nervous as heck, thinking of my own kids."

Day, a trucking manager, said it was fortunate that he had started going back to the gym so he could help catch the baby, who weighed about 30 pounds.

He saw divine intervention at work in the baby's rescue. "Yeah, I think God had a lot to do with this," said Day. "Definitely, by God."

Caliah Clark was taken to a hospital. but is expected to be OK. The two rescuers were "real heroes," Police Chief John Romero said. The Department of Social Services was notified and was expected to investigate.

The child's father, Randall Clark, said he was watching a 2-month-old baby in another room when the incident occurred, Romero said.

Romero said there was no child guard on the window.

"There are a number of things we are doing to investigate on our end," he said. "At this point, we are investigating to determine what led up to this incident."

Officials said the baby had fallen 40 feet, but Lemire said that was incorrect.

The fall was 28 feet, perhaps 30, he said. "Like I said, I'm a remodeling contractor so I'm pretty good at the heights."

"I didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. I was just happy we were lucky enough to catch her," he said.

[Popeye the Sailor]

Very nice.



Maybe the Lions can sign them.

[ducpainter]

a 2 month old that weighs 30 lbs?

[redxblack]

No way the Lions would sign them - they didn't spike the kid to celebrate the great catch.

[somegirl]

a 2 month old that weighs 30 lbs?

You need to re-read the article...it was an 18-month-old that fell.  The father was watching a 2-month-old.

[ducpainter]

You need to re-read the article...it was an 18-month-old that fell.  The father was watching a 2-month-old.

Fair enough.

Still a pretty big 18 mnth old.

Lot's of fries in that kid.

[He Man]

No way the Lions would sign them - they didn't spike the kid to celebrate the great catch.

And then you loose 10 yards during kickoff because you celebrated with the football.

[slowpoke13]

The fall was 28 feet, perhaps 30, he said. "Like I said, I'm a remodeling contractor so I'm pretty good at the heights."

"I didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. I was just happy we were lucky enough to catch her," he said.

So, he can figure out how far up the window is because he is a remodeling contractor... But, can't figure out the gender?

[KnightofNi]

So, he can figure out how far up the window is because he is a remodeling contractor... But, can't figure out the gender?

babies all look alike anyways.

[NAKID]

An 18month old should look like a girl or a boy. Had it been the 2 month old, I would have said OK...

[mitt]

Fair enough.

Still a pretty big 18 mnth old.

Lot's of fries in that kid.

I don't know, my kids have been (are on) that rate about, and have never had fries - it is ~90% for boys and ~98% for girls.

Still, regardless if it was 20 lbs or 40 lbs, it would have been a difficult catch - props out to them for doing the right thing and having good hands.

mitt