Embed Anchorage Home Depot Employee Catches Falling Baby in Video
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -
A video of an employee at an Anchorage Home Depot catching a falling baby in midair last week is going viral Wednesday.
A YouTube video posted Monday by Dale Strickland credits his brother with the save.
Home Depot corporate spokesperson Catherine Woodling confirms that Chris Strickland, a lot loader in the South Anchorage store at 1715 Abbott Rd., caught the baby Thursday.
The nine-second recording of security camera footage shows Strickland, standing near but facing away from a shopping cart with a baby in a car seat perched atop it. The seat overturns and the baby falls -- but Strickland turns around and catches the child just short of hitting the store’s cement floor.
In comments about the video on Channel 2’s Facebook page, viewers express awe at the timing of Strickland’s save.
“Scary! So glad he was there!” wrote April Lynne Smith.
“Wow! Right time right place! Good work!” wrote Gadduu Marcie Pungowiyi.
The video has gone viral on several websites this week, including the Huffington Post.
According to a Facebook page for Strickland, he left Grace Christian School last year and began working for Home Depot in October. A message sent to his account wasn’t immediately answered Wednesday.
At Home Depot, Woodling says Strickland will be nominated for the chain's Angel Award, given for exceptional acts of heroism.
"It's pretty self-evident what happened in the video," Woodling said. "We're just excited that this happened and excited for him."
An earlier version of this story appeared online stating Strickland would receive the Angel Award and the store would receive $400. The text has been corrected to show Strickland is only being nominated for the award. Reference to any kind of cash prize has been removed pending verification.