Crime & Safety

Choking Baby Who Stopped Breathing at Restaurant Saved by Cop, Police Say

One-year-old was blue before officer successfully performed Heimlich Maneuver at Applebee's.

A Parsippany police officer became a hero recently when she was able to help a baby stop choking on a piece of food at a local restaurant, police reported.

Officers Awilda Curving and Jeffrey Papienuk responded to the Applebee’s Restaurant on Friday at 12:39 p.m. for a report of a one-year-old child choking on a piece of food, Officer Earl Kinsey said.

When Curving entered the business, she found the one-year-old had turned blue and was not breathing, Kinsey said. The officer immediately began the Heimlich Maneuver, and with the third thrust, was able to dislodge the food that was blocking the baby’s airway, Kinsey said.

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The child began breathing again and his skin color returned to normal. Par-Troy EMS and St. Clare’s Hospital Mobile Intensive Care Unit responded and treated the child, who was taken to Morristown Medical Center for further evaluation.

He is expected to make a full recovery, Kinsey said.

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For questions about this post, email jason.koestenblatt@patch.com.


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