‘You should always help those in danger’: Heroic seven-year-old boy saves his suffocating classmate’s life by performing the Heimlich – which he learned by watching a medical drama on TV with his parents
- David Diaz Jr., a sophomore at Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Binghamton, New York, was branded a hero after helping another boy who was choking
- David Jr. sprang into action after he noticed that one of his friends, named DeAndre, had stopped breathing after a slice of pizza got stuck in his throat
- Without hesitation, he ran to DeAndre and started the Heimlich maneuver – which involves performing abdominal thrusts – and loosening the food properly.
- He said he learned how to do it after watching a few episodes of the Freddie Highmore-led ABC medical drama The Good Doctor with his father, David Diaz Sr.
- The youngster said he’d seen doctors perform the Heimlich on the show and decided to “remember” it because it seemed like something “important”
- The seven-year-old explained that you should ‘always’ help people who are ‘in danger’, adding: ‘If you don’t, it could be very sad’
A heroic seven-year-old boy saved his suffocating classmate’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver on him — which he said he learned from watching medical drama The Good Doctor with his parents.
David Diaz Jr., a sophomore at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Binghamton, New York, has been branded a local hero after helping another boy who was choking.
David Jr. sprang into action after he noticed that one of his friends, named DeAndre, stopped breathing after a slice of pizza got stuck in his throat during lunch.
Without hesitation, he ran to DeAndre and started the Heimlich maneuver — a method used when someone is choking, where you wrap your arms around the person and perform abdominal thrusts with your hands in a fist — and properly loosen the piece of food.
A seven-year-old boy (seen with his father and New York State Senator Fred Akshar) miraculously saved his suffocating classmate’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver on him
David Jr. sprang into action after he noticed that one of his friends, named DeAndre (left), had stopped breathing after a slice of pizza got stuck in his throat during lunch
He said he learned how to do it after watching a few episodes of the Freddie Highmore-led ABC medical drama The Good Doctor with his father, David Diaz Sr.
He said he learned the Heimlich after watching a few episodes of the Freddie Highmore-led ABC medical drama The Good Doctor (pictured) with his father, David Diaz Sr.
While teachers were nearby, the youngster – who was sitting across from the sick student – told: Fox news that he decided to join after finding himself the closest to DeAndre.
The seven-year-old explained that you should “always” help people who are “in danger,” adding that he acted without even thinking.
“If someone is choking or in danger, you always have to rescue them. If you don’t, it could be very sad,” he told the outlet. “I didn’t know what to do, so I just did it.”
Kristin Korba, a second-grade teacher at the school who was watching the cafeteria when it happened, explained that David Jr. told her he’d seen doctors perform the Heimlich on the show, and decided to “remember” it because it seemed like something. ‘important.’
The youngster said he’d seen doctors perform the Heimlich on the show and decided to “remember” it because it seemed like something “important.”
Now branded as a hero, he was handed a New York State Senate Commendation Award from Senator Akshar earlier this week.
She said she went to see them right after it happened and they contacted DeAndre’s parents and sent him to the nurse, who gave him permission to go back to class.
The quick actions of David Jr. ultimately saved the boy’s life, and his bravery was crowned by New York Senator Fred Akshar, who presented him with a New York State Senate Commendation Award earlier this week.
‘David Jr. acted without hesitation, jumped in and performed the Heimlich maneuver to save DeAndre’s life,” the senator told the Today show.
“We were proud to have David Jr. presenting a New York State Senate Commendation Award for illustrating what it means to be a hero in his community.”
“I’m very proud of my son,” his father gushed at Fox. “He’s an angel in my eyes. If he wants to become a doctor in the future, I will be happy to help him achieve that later in life. But it’s really up to him.’
According to David Jr. however, he is not so sure if he wants to become a doctor.
“I probably want to be a basketball player,” he admitted.