WOODLAND HILLS, CA – A California Highway Patrol officer and his partner were the first to respond to a 911 call about a choking infant in the backseat of a minivan off the 101 freeway in late May.
Luckily, one of the CHP officers also happened to be a licensed paramedic, and was able to clear the obstruction in the infant’s airways.
A California Highway Patrol officer saved a 6-month-old baby choking on a cherry in a car on the 101 freeway in Woodland Hills. https://t.co/29WHhU27s3
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) June 10, 2021
California Highway Patrol officials recently released the dashcam video of the May 28th incident where CHP Officers Casey Ramstead and Jed Cato responded to a 911 call about a choking infant inside a minivan along the 101 freeway.
When the officers arrived, they found the child in the backseat being held by the mother, according to Officer Ramstead:
“Officer Cato and I jumped out of the car, ran up as far as we could, got to the car and found the mother holding the baby in the backseat.”
The mother informed the officers that her son was choking on the skin of a cherry, which Officer Ramstead recounted how he quickly assessed the boy’s condition:
“I had my hand close to his face, trying to feel any air flow. I was listening to his back to see if I could hear the exchange of air.”
CHP West Valley officers recently responded to call of a baby choking in a car along the 101 Fwy. Officer Ramstead (licensed paramedic) evaluated the infant & utilized back slaps to help the infant clear his airway and begin breathing normally. 6 month old was choking on a cherry pic.twitter.com/rpCuVrldHX
— CHP – West Valley (@CHPWestValley) June 7, 2021
Meanwhile, as seen on the released footage, Officer Cato was keeping an eye on traffic nearby to ensure that drivers were aware of the officers and the van pulled off to the side of the highway:
“My job was to protect my partner. I knew he was going to be really focused on attending to the child and making sure whatever life-saving measures were taken.”
Within moments of checking if the child was properly breathing, Officer Ramstead first employed the Heimlich Maneuver specifically designed for infants, and then transitioned to back slaps to clear the obstruction:
“On the sixth back blow, where I struck him right between his shoulder blades, I heard a ‘uh.’ Oh, that’s just pure relief. That was just excitement and relief because I knew I did it right.”
Officer Ramstead has been a paramedic since 2006, so this isn’t the first time he’s employed life-saving measures. However, Officer Ramstead is still pretty humble for someone who saved an infant’s life:
“It’s just another day on the highway patrol, serving the general public, doing whatever we can. It just happens that I’m a little more skilled in this and was able to use my paramedic skills.”
The CHP officer also added that he would highly encourage all new or soon to be parents to get trained in first aid and CPR:
“Even if you are scared or freaked out at first, I think every parent at the end of the day will react appropriately, especially if they got that training then they know what to do.”
Law Enforcement Today previously reported on officers finding themselves in the right place at the right time to help those in need.
One such instance occurred back in May where a deputy in Virginia single-handedly lifted an overturned vehicle so that a driver whose head was trapped and breathing obstructed could free herself from the life-threatening position.
Here’s that previous report.
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GLOUCESTER COUNTY, VA – A sheriff’s deputy in Virginia is getting some well-deserved accolades and being hailed as a hero, after he single handedly lifted an overturned vehicle where a woman’s head was trapped in a portion of the sunroof and thus obstructing her breathing.
This deputy’s sheer motivation and physical feat afforded the woman the opportunity to free herself from the life-threatening obstruction.
A police officer in Virginia is being hailed as a hero after video was shared of him single-handedly lifting an overturned car off of a woman’s head as her child screamed for help nearby. https://t.co/3zfIhYPBqr
— ABC News (@ABC) May 20, 2021
The incident occurred during the evening of May 7th in Gloucester County, when Deputy John Holt had responded to a report of an overturned car. Officials released bodycam footage from the incident which show the deputy arriving on the scene.
Once Deputy Holt had exited his vehicle, he was met with frantic cries from those that had managed to escape the overturned vehicle clamoring about the driver that was a trapped and whose breathing obstructed due to her head being caught in a compromising position.
A statement from the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office noted the following about the circumstances:
“The driver was laying underneath the vehicle with her head pinned by the sunroof. Seeing the trauma her child was witnessing, Deputy J. Holt went into overdrive.”
In the release bodycam footage, a child can be seen inside of the vehicle pleading with the deputy to help his mother:
“She can’t breathe. She can’t breathe. Please help.”
While the footage from the body worn camera shows everything from the deputy’s perspective, the groans from the exerting of force can be heard as the deputy lifts the vehicle so as to free the entrapped woman from her life-threatening predicament.
The statement from the sheriff’s office shared the following sentiments regarding Deputy Holt’s actions that likely saved this woman’s life:
“Through sheer will and determination due to fearing the female may succumb to her circumstance in front of her panic-stricken child, Deputy J. Holt took quick action and was able to physically lift the vehicle up enough for the driver to maneuver her head out to safety.”
While the woman was saved, she is also been charged in connection with the incident that caused the vehicle she was driving to overturn.
The driver, later identified as 50-year-old Channelle Parker, was charged with driving under the influence, holding a cellphone while driving, and fleeing the scene of a hit and run she was allegedly involved in.
This isn’t the first time that Deputy Holt has received accolades for lifesaving endeavors.
This past February, deputy Holt had accepted the award for both the local and regional top cop award from the Greater Hampton Roads Regional Crime Line in connection with him saving the lives of two people for my burning house on March 24th of 2020.
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