Heroic NJ Transit police officers save life of 3-year-old choking on bus in dramatic video

Patrick Reilly
·2 min read

Quick-thinking New Jersey Transit Police officers saved the life of a 3-year-old boy who was choking to the point of turning blue earlier this month, dramatic body camera footage shows.

Transit cops at the Trenton station heard cries for help coming from a private bus at around 9:45 p.m. on April 16.

“Baby baby baby!” a person yells by the bus door as another hands the boy’s limp body over to the officers, video released by the department shows.

The child’s airway was obstructed and officers immediately sprang into action, giving CPR to the boy.

New Jersey Transit Police officers perform CPR on a choking 3-year-old boy at a bus station in Trenton on April 16.
New Jersey Transit Police officers perform CPR on a choking 3-year-old boy at a bus station in Trenton on April 16.

However, the object remained lodged in his throat and he began turning blue from lack of oxygen, NJ Transit police said.

“Is it coming out?” someone asks.

“No, he’s turning blue,” an officer says in the heart-stopping clip.

The child’s parents, who did not speak English, can be heard panicking and crying in the background.

Transit cops at the Trenton station heard cries for help coming from a private bus at around 9:45 p.m. on April 16.
Transit cops at the Trenton station heard cries for help coming from a private bus at around 9:45 p.m. on April 16.
The child’s airway was obstructed and officers immediately sprang into action, giving CPR to the boy.
The child’s airway was obstructed and officers immediately sprang into action, giving CPR to the boy.

Realizing that the not-breathing child needed further medical attention, K-9 Officer Timothy Geoghegan packed the tot into a police cruiser and made a bee-line for the hospital while Sgt. Michael Filandro continued to give CPR in the back of the car.

“Stay with me. Stay with me ok, buddy?” Filando repeatedly told the 3-year-old.

Suddenly, the child began breathing again.

“He’s moving air. He’s making noise,” Filando tells Geoghegan, as the boy begins whimpering, the clip shows.

K-9 Officer Timothy Geoghegan packed the tot into a police cruiser and made a bee-line for the hospital.
K-9 Officer Timothy Geoghegan packed the tot into a police cruiser and made a bee-line for the hospital.
Sgt. Michael Filandro continued to give CPR in the back of the car until the boy began to breathe again.
Sgt. Michael Filandro continued to give CPR in the back of the car until the boy began to breathe again.

“There we go! Alright! Good job!” he tells the boy, clearly relieved.

“An excellent job and a young life saved by the New Jersey Transit Police Officers,” the department said in a statement, saluting all the officers involved including Lieutenant Mark Frenzel and officers Roberto Tavares and Michael Virag.