Gripping bodycam footage captured two Maryland State Troopers racing against the clock to save a choking baby on the side of the road.
Troopers First Class Taylor Hersh and Corporal Jonathan Stoltzfus were hailed heroes after they saved the infant from choking to death in Calvert County on Saturday afternoon, according to the Maryland State Police Department.
The incident unfolded on camera as an officer rushed to save the non-breathing baby, performing desperate life-saving measures while the mother helplessly stood by.
Just moments later, the relief was audible: ‘He’s breathing.’
‘Without hesitation, the troopers immediately began lifesaving measures and were able to clear the infant’s airway,’ state police said in a statement.
‘Their quick actions and training made all the difference, preventing what could have been yet another tragic outcome,’ they added.
‘Well done, TFC Hersh and Cpl. Stoltzfus!’
At around 2pm, Hersh and Stoltzfus were working on a service call in Lusby, parked in a quiet residential neighborhood and standing outside their undercover vehicles.
From across the street, a woman’s frantic voice pierced the air as she approached the troopers: ‘I need help, my baby is choking!’
In the footage, one trooper quickly set down what he was holding on the hood of his SUV and raced across the road to the terrified mother holding her baby, with the second trooper following close behind.
She tried to explain that her child was choking as she handed him to a trooper, though admitted the baby was only drinking liquids.
The trooper immediately got down on his knees, placed the baby on his leg belly-first and began gently patting the child’s back.
‘He’s just throwing up,’ the mother said as the troopers continued their desperate efforts. ‘He’s just spitting up some stuff.’
Keeping the rhythm, the trooper softly spoke to the infant: ‘Come on buddy.’
He handed the infant to the second trooper, explaining he needed to get the suction cup from his vehicle, while his partner held the baby and urgently checked for breathing.
The trooper confirmed the baby was breathing a heartbeat later, drawing a huge sigh of relief from the mother.
Maryland State Police shared the video to X and praised the troopers for their ‘quick actions and training,’ reiterating that it was key in saving the infant from a tragic fate.
‘Two MDSP Troopers are being credited with saving the life of a choking infant in Southern Maryland this past weekend,’ the statement read.
‘Job well done by Maryland’s finest!’ it added.
The dramatic rescue comes just a month after another Maryland State Trooper saved a choking infant during a traffic stop in Cecil County, according to WBAL-TV 11 News.
On February 15, Trooper Nicolas Warren was conducting a traffic stop on Walnut Drive in Elkton when another car pulled up, with the driver shouting, ‘We need help. My baby is choking.’
While immediately calling for emergency medical services, he didn’t waste a second in performing life-saving first aid on the baby – another dramatic moment caught on official footage.
‘I grew up in the fire department. I was a volunteer before I came to the state police, so I’ve had plenty of training, and then, they gave us a ton of training in the academy, and I’ve been able to use it quite often on my job,’ Warren told the outlet.
‘That was the first time that I’ve used that kind of training on an infant,’ he added. ‘You don’t get too many calls on babies, so it was definitely a first for me.’
Yet he stayed calm during his first encounter with a choking infant, delivering a few minutes of back blows before successfully clearing the blockage.
In a scene reminiscent of Saturday, the infant started breathing again within a few moments.
‘It happened so fast that your brain just clicks. So, I was very thankful for that training,’ he told WBAL.
‘That’s why you sign up to do this job. And, it’s the most rewarding thing you can have, having a good outcome and something like that. That happened so fast and seconds count, so it was very, very rewarding.’
