By Sarah Calams
LOS ANGELES — Dashcam video captured the moment a California Highway Patrol officer saved a 6-month-old baby who was choking on a cherry in a car on the side of a busy freeway.
NBC Los Angeles reported that a woman called 911 from her van to report her baby was choking on a cherry. Officer Casey Ramstead, who’s a licensed paramedic, pulled over to help the family. In the video, Ramstead calmly lifts the child out of the van as another officer directs traffic.
“I put my hands out, she handed me the baby,” Ramstead recalled. “I held him up. I was trying to look, listen and feel to see if there was any air exchange happening. I was listening to his back to see if I could hear anything. I didn’t hear anything. Something was wrong, but I just didn’t know how severe.”
The officer can be seen cradling the baby and slapping his back to clear the airway. A few moments later, the cherry dislodged and the baby began breathing normally.
Ramstead stayed on scene to monitor the baby until an ambulance arrived. The baby was taken to a hospital for evaluation, but is expected to be OK, according to KTLA.
“CHP officers come from many different backgrounds, different walks of life and have unique skillsets,” the agency wrote on Instagram. “CHP officers receive annual Emergency Medical Response training to ensure they’re prepared to assist with medical emergencies in the field.”
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