New Jersey State Trooper Saves Choking Boy With Roadside Heimlich Maneuver

The boy's mother said the troopers "acted like angels for us."

Dramatic video from a New Jersey state police dashboard camera shows a trooper on the shoulder of a roadway saving the life of a teenager who was choking on a chicken nugget. 

The 13-year-old boy, Julian Estrada, who has special needs and is prone to seizures, was sitting in the back seat of his parents' car Sunday, eating one of his favorite foods, when he started having trouble breathing. 
 
State police spokesman Brian Polite said the boy's father, Filadelfo Estrada, pulled the car over on Route 129 in Trenton, and "frantically waved" to a passing trooper to stop and help. 
 
The trooper, James Hearne, who had recruit Ruben Behavidez riding along for training, raced to the back of Estrada's vehicle, and as the video shows, began applying the Heimlich maneuver in an effort to dislodge the food as the child's father and mother watched.  
 
In a matter of seconds, it worked, and the boy could breathe. 
 
Polite says the family declined first aid, and drove off to their home in Florence, N.J. 
 
The boy's mother said the troopers "acted like angels for us."
 
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