UConn Pitcher Justin Willis, Family Escape Collapse of Miami-Area Condo Building

UConn pitcher Justin Willis and his family—father Albert Aguero, mother Janette Aguero and sister Athena Aguero—were able to escape the Champlain Towers condominium complex in Surfside, Florida, that collapsed Thursday morning, according to Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant.

Per the Associated Press, nine people died in the building collapse and around 150 people have gone unaccounted for as rescuers continue to search the aftermath.

Willis said he was up watching TV and playing a video game around 1 a.m. when he felt the building shake and he and his sister noticed dust floating up to their 11th-story balcony.

"It felt like a first gust of wind from a storm, then the second one felt kind of like [Super Storm] Sandy, the way I remember it," he said. "It kind of seemed normal for the moment. Then the third one felt like a jet took off right on top of our building. I was expecting to see a plane come right over our balcony."

Willis said his family gathered as much as they could and investigated what was going on. When they reached the hallway, they saw two holes where the elevators were supposed to be, and that the apartment next to them was gone.

They then proceeded to the stairway to walk out of the building, stopping to help an elderly woman on the third floor escape as well.

"At the moment, [focusing on saving the woman] takes your mind off it," Willis said. "There is something else going on."

Willis said at 1:38 a.m., he and his family reached the beach and made it to safety.

"Once we reached the beach, it kind of settled in, like, wow, what just happened?" he said. "I didn't even think about it in the moment. I didn't look back at the building."

He estimated that he and his sister had been about 15 feet from the edge of the building's collapse. Willis and his family reside in West New York, New Jersey, and the apartment belonged to his grandparents. He said his family would often use it on vacation.

"It just gives you a new sense," Willis said of the escape. "I've always been a positive kid. I like to think I've had some unreal experiences in baseball and what my parents have sacrificed for me, but it definitely gives you a new meaning."

Willis, a junior at UConn, went 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA for the Huskies this past season.