Heroic police officer saves child choking on candy: He was 'purple'

An El Monte, California police officer stepped up to help save a young boy from a severe choking incident last Monday.

Raul Vega was the first officer on the scene after receiving a call that an 8-year-old boy was unconscious after choking on a piece of candy.  

Vanessa Becerra-Aguayo says she is "very thankful" police responded to her son Ethan’s medical emergency after she, along with neighbors, were trying to do everything they could to revive him.

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"I just saw him purple, he was already unconscious, so ... neighbors and I were trying to do compressions on his chest, breathe through his mouth, but nothing seemed to be working," she recalled. "He was unable to talk to me, so he was unconscious the whole time until the police arrived." 

Vega said the young boy was "unresponsive" when he arrived on the scene, and he knew he needed "attention quickly," so he pulled out his LifeVac, portable, airway clearance device used on both adults and children.

"It's an anti-choking, rescue device," Vega said. "It's basically like a plunger, like a foam plunger, and you place the device over the person's mouth, and you press to get, you know, suction in and while you're holding it down, you pull it up, and that allows the object to become dislodged and the airway to open up." 

After two tries, the candy came out of Ethan’s throat, and he later woke up in the ambulance. 

Vega said he had great partners with him while he responded to the incident. Ethan's mother, still shaken over the incident, is overjoyed.

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