On the morning of Valentine’s Day, Maryland State trooper Nicholas Warren had pulled over a vehicle on Walnut Drive in Elkton, Maryland. That’s when another vehicle pulled up, and a frantic man jumped out.
“Help! My baby is choking,” the man said.
Body worn camera footage shows Warren quickly taking the child out of the vehicle and administering back blows while calling for help from emergency personnel on his radio.
After less than a minute of administering care, the object was dislodged from the child’s throat, and the baby started crying.
“All my training and stuff kicked in,” Warren, who is a former volunteer firefighter, told WTOP. “I have young kids of my own. I, thankfully, knew what to do.”
If you have an unresponsive or choking baby, the American Red Cross recommends holding the infant face down along your forearm with your hand supporting under their chin. Without covering their mouth, use the heel of your other hand to give firm back blows between the infant’s shoulder blades.
Warren recounted the harrowing moments after receiving the child.
“They had the baby with them in the car, and it wasn’t moving,” Warren said.
After the baby began breathing again, the child was checked out by paramedics, Warren said.
Once he was declared to be OK, the baby was handed back to his relieved and thankful parents.
“We shook hands and hugged,” Warren said of his interaction with the baby’s parents. “That’s a really good feeling. I’ve never had anything this rewarding happen before.”