Riverview Teacher Saves Student's Life: Report

BLOOMINGDALE-RIVERVIEW, FL — A fourth-grade teacher at Summerfield Elementary in Riverview recently saved the life of a student in her class, WFLA reported.

Wendy Barnes noticed nine-year-old Noah Cruz choking at a desk during a math test. Barnes told WFTS that he then put his hands on top of a desk where he sat. Barnes ran to the classroom phone and called the office to send a nurse, the outlet reported.

When Cruz put a mint in his mouth, he said he accidentally swallowed it and it got lodged in his throat, WFTS reported.

Barnes saw the student's choking worsened. She told the TV station that she knew if she waited for the nurse, it might not end in a good way. Cruz could not speak at all.

Barnes performed the Heimlich maneuver, and out popped the mint.

"I didn't know if I was going to make it or not," Noah Cruz told a WFTS reporter.

Cruz and his mom said that Barnes is their hero.

For the full story, visit WFTS here.