Security officer saves Riverhead Middle School student from choking
Riverhead NY June 17 2023
Acting on instinct and years of training, a Riverhead Middle School security guard saved a student’s life recently.
On June 1, like most days, eighth-grader Randy Ortega Perez was enjoying his lunch surrounded by friends. But when the 13-year-old began to talk while chewing, a large bite of his hamburger jammed his windpipe.
After performing the Heimlich maneuver and striking the young man’s back with his palm, security officer David Lopez was able to dislodge the blockage from Randy’s throat.
The events that unfolded June 1 came just three weeks after a similarly harrowing incident at Riverhead’s Riley Avenue Elementary School, where staffers successfully administered life-saving care to a kindergartner who was choking on a chicken nugget.
Terry Culhane, director of security for the Riverhead Central School District, called the close occurrences “bizarre,” saying they stand alone in his five years with the district.
“It’s never happened before, then all of a sudden we get two in [three] weeks,” he said. “I’m so grateful for the hard work that the security officers do, and that they knew what to do. They didn’t panic; they were calm, cool and collected.”
The June 1 incident began around 12:45 p.m. After he started choking at his lunch table, Randy ran out of the cafeteria into the hall, where he encountered Mr. Lopez. “Gasping for air,” as Mr. Lopez described it, the young man could hardly utter the sole word trying to escape him: “agua.” Randy leaned forward as if he might throw up, then took off down the hall toward a water fountain.
He tried to sip water, but to no avail. Mr. Lopez caught up and within seconds, recognized that Randy needed immediate care. The security guard described him as “clearly in distress.”
“You could see the panic in his face,” Mr. Lopez continued. “He was getting darker in color.”
The security officer embraced the eighth grader and administered several Heimlich maneuver thrusts. Seeking additional help, Mr. Lopez handed off his radio to nearby technology teacher Kevin Brennan, who called for Christina Mowdy, the school nurse.
He continued performing the Heimlich maneuver, then bent Randy over a garbage can and struck him on the back with his palm. After several hits, the chunk of food dislodged from Randy’s windpipe and plopped onto the floor.
After Ms. Mowdy checked Randy out in her office, he went home for the day. His mother, Lorena Perez, said like any mom, she was worried for her son and was thankful he was all right. And just like many other mothers, she had to ask him if the incident occurred because he was fooling around.
Back in school the next day, Randy thanked Mr. Lopez, whose previous encounters with him mostly involved asking Randy to remove his hood from his head.
“While I hate to hear what happened, happened, I’m not surprised at all that the outcome was what it was,” Riverhead Middle School principal Dr. Joseph Pesqueira said. “I would love to see if we can make sure more people are trained … there’s always more we can do.”
