Harrison incident: Right place, right time - and right people - for toddler's emergency
HARRISON - A toddler picked the right place here to have a life-threatening emergency.
Police say a township officer was responding to an unrelated call when he noticed a stopped car, with a rear door ajar and a woman calling for help, near North Main Street and Colson Lane on the evening of Oct. 17.
Cpl. Kevin McGowan then observed the woman was "frantically attempting to remove a child from a seat," says a police account.
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McGowan stopped to find a 20-month-old child was choking in the car "and turning blue in the face," it says.
The officer quickly removed the toddler from the seat and performed back blows.
The account notes the vehicle also had stopped "thankfully" outside a Gloucester County EMS station.
An EMT in the parking lot, Jenine Ellena, saw the incident and ran to assist.
Ellena, with help from her partner, EMT Richard Kennedy, dislodged the obstruction and the child began to breathe again.
Police provided no additional information about the woman or the child.
Harrison Twp. Police Chief Ronald Cundey praised the rescue in a statement at the department's Facebook page.
He noted McGowan's "quick actions and calm administration of first aid saved precious time" and allowed the officer and the EMTs to work together to save the child.
"Their efforts, along with other emergency services personnel that arrived to assist, reflect greatly o the training and dedication that they possess," the chief said in the post.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Harrison Township police officer, EMTs, save life of choking child
