A school bus driver saved a little boy’s life after he started to choke on a coin on his way to school.
Raquel Radford Baker, 38, – nicknamed ‘Miss Rocky’ by her school kids – works as a bus driver for Seagoville North Elementary School in Dallas, Texas.
Preston Bell, 7, was riding to school on Radford Baker’s bus when he was caught on surveillance footage laughing with his friends before putting something in his mouth.
The seven-year-old started to choke and rushed over to his bus driver – who had just pulled up to the school for drop off – and appeared to be struggling to breathe.
Radford Baker’s survival instincts kicked in and the CPR trained military veteran was able to whisk the little boy off the bus and perform the Heimlich Maneuver multiple times to save Preston’s life.
A school bus driver saved a little boy’s life after he started to choke on a coin on his way to school (pictured: Raquel Radford Baker, bus driver, with Preston Bell, 7, and his mom Gia Bell)
Raquel Radford Baker, 38, – nicknamed ‘Miss Rocky’ by her school kids – works as a bus driver for Seagoville North Elementary School in Dallas, Texas (pictured with student Preston Bell)
The bus driver – who said the kids that ride her bus are her ‘babies’ – has been in the transportation industry for 17 years, but has never needed to perform CPR before.
‘He appeared to be sick as if he needed to throw up, I opened the door and said go ahead and throw up,’ Radford Baker told Good Morning America. ‘He turned back to me and he looked like he was in trouble with breathing.’
She said: ‘He can’t die in my arms I have to save his life.’
‘The whole entire time I’m saying, ‘Baby, breathe. I got you. Breathe,” she continued.
Preston was limp and turned blue in the face.
Luckily, Radford-Baker remained calm during her rescue efforts. She spotted a parent and asked her to call 911.
Radford Baker was covering for another bus driver for that day’s drop-off, but she was in the right place at the right time.
Preston and his mom, Gia Bell, were reunited with their ‘hero’ to thank her.
‘I was able to look at her in her eyes and tell her how much I thank her for saving my son’s life,’ Bell said.
Preston and his mom, Gia Bell, got the opportunity to meet their hero. ‘I was able to look at her in her eyes and tell her how much I thank her for saving my son’s life,’ Bell said
The bus driver – who said the kids that ride her bus are her ‘babies’ – has been in the transportation industry for 17 years, but has never needed to perform CPR before
Radford Baker said: ‘He appeared to be sick as if he needed to throw up, I opened the door and said go ahead and throw up. He turned back to me and he looked like he was in trouble with breathing’
Radford Baker, who is a mother-of-three, said: ‘She was just so thankful, grateful—it was just a relief. I did put myself in her shoes and I told her I could only imagine how she felt.’ Her supervisors rewarded her at work on Friday with awards for her heroism
Preston said: ‘I think she’s my hero because she saved my life. I’ll see her at the bus stop always picking me up. She’s an angel.’
Radford Baker, who is a mother-of-three, said: ‘She was just so thankful, grateful—it was just a relief. I did put myself in her shoes and I told her I could only imagine how she felt.’
Her supervisors rewarded her at work on Friday with awards for her heroism, CBS reported.
She said: ‘I feel like God placed me there for a reason…I mean, if I wasn’t there, I don’t know what the other driver may have done.’
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