Third-grader saves choking friend | CTV News [Video]

An Arizona third-grader is being recognized by his local fire department after saving a friend from choking.

Eight-year-old Thomas Conley was sitting in his school lunchroom when he noticed that the boy sat next to him, Isaiah Rodriguez, was in distress.

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“I was just doodling in my notebook, and then I just heard Isaiah crying,” Conley said in an on-camera interview. “Then I realized he was choking.”

Security footage provided by the City of Mesa, Ariz. shows Conley leaping into action as Rodriguez stands up with his hand at his throat, showing signs of panic.

Before Rodriguez could step out of reach, Conley pulled him back by his shirt and performed the Heimlich Manoeuvre, bringing his hands together and thrusting them into his friend’s diaphragm to create pressure in the airway and help dislodge …