DRAPER, Utah, Dec. 23, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A UDOT team member and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper came together Wednesday to help save a choking child at a gas station in Draper.
“Wednesday evening at approximately 7:30 p.m. at the Maverik gas station in Draper at 14814 S. Minuteman Drive, a member of UDOT’s Incident Management Team and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper helped save the life of a five-year old girl who was choking in the back seat of her mother’s car,” according to a UDOT statement.
IMT member Robert Bratton noticed a vehicle swerve erratically into the gas station and began making his way to the car.
“A distraught woman jumped out from the front seat of the vehicle asking for help,” the statement said.
“She immediately pulled the rear door open to reveal her child choking in the back.
Bratton quickly took the child, and performed the reverse Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the obstruction from the little girl’s airway.
After several thrusts to the child’s back, she spit out the food that was blocking her airway and began to breathe normally again,” the statement said.
The grateful mother profusely thanked the rescuers.
“Right place, right time,” said a relieved Robert Bratton.
Gephardt Daily will update the story as more information becomes available.
