Trooper Hailed As Hero After Saving Infant's Life

BROOKSVILLE, FL — An 8-month-old baby is alive thanks to the quick actions of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper Sunday.

Just after 6 p.m., Trooper Billy Ortiz was ending his shift and arriving at his Brooksville home when he was flagged down by a driver traveling at high speed and blowing the horn of his pickup truck.

The driver, a 25-year-old Brooksville man, stopped when he saw Ortiz, got out of his truck and began yelling that his 8-month-old infant was choking.

Ortiz and a passerby, who identified herself as a retired nurse, promptly cleared the obstruction in the infant's throat. Ortiz then took the baby to Oak Hill Regional Hospital where medical staff were able to clear the obstruction, which they found to be a plastic wrapper.