11 Jul 2008, 10:47 PM PDT
Two Huntington Beach police helicopter crew members who heard a mother's 911 plea Friday for help in saving her choking year-old boy landed the chopper near the family's home and dislodged the obstruction causing the problem.

The pilot, Rick McNaughton, and his observer partner, R.J. Garwood, were monitoring radio calls when the mother, who was calling from her home in the 18300 block of Springtime Lane, spoke to a dispatcher around 11:45 a.m., said police Lt. Irwin Feuerstein.

The mother told the dispatcher that her son was not breathing and was turning blue, but was hysterical and having difficulty understanding the first-aid techniques the dispatcher was giving her, Feuerstein said.

To complicate matters, significant road construction was going on around the home, which would hamper response time by both fire and police
responders, Feuerstein said.

The officers "made a judgment call that the others would likely take too long," and they landed the chopper in the street, Sgt. John Van Holt said. “They are the heroes of the day around here,” said neighbor Brian Verrall, who was home at the time. “They were like angels coming out of the sky to save the kid.”

Garwood went inside the house and was able to dislodge the obstruction that was causing the child to choke, Feuerstein said.

Paramedics arrived and took the child to a hospital, where he was reported to be doing fine, Feuerstein said.

The fire personnel said the actions by the helicopter crew not only saved the life of the child, but more than likely prevented brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, Feuerstein said.

After the rescue, the Huntington Beach Fire Department brought the two men a chocolate pie from Marie Callendar's. “We wanted to do something nice for them,” firefighter Philip Cheung said.

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