JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A third-grader has been hailed as a hero after performing the Heimlich Maneuver to save his friend's life. The student said he learned the life-saving lesson from a cartoon.
Carl Brown Jr., 9, told Channel 4 that when he saw his friend, Davis Soots, was choking he jumped into action after remembering he'd seen the Heimlich performed on television.
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The incident happened Monday at Greenfield Elementary on the Southside.
"His face was all red and his eyes were red and his tears were coming down, that's when he started choking," Brown said.
"I was eating lunch and when I ate a Cheez-It, I accidentally swallowed it and then my face turned red and I started to cry," Soots said.
"I came behind him and had my arms around him and I did the Heimlich," Brown said.
Brown said he learned how to do the Heimlich Maneuver while watching TV.
"I saw it on a cartoon movie. It was a man -- a big man choking on an apple or something and a little boy came behind and tried to get it out," Brown said.
The two boys said they've been by each other's side since the first day of school, but now Brown is even more than Soot's best friend.
"He's a lifesaver," Soots said.
Brown's quick thinking caught even the adults at school by surprise.
"I thought they were horsing around. When I looked at Davis, his face was just extremely red, crying and by the time I got there to help them out, Carl had already done the Heimlich Maneuver," said a school employee.
"I don't think there are enough words in the dictionary to describe how I feel to know that he saved someone's life, that he took the role of doing something positive," Brown's father said.
"I was just in amazement that a third-grader would know and take action. It's just awesome," said Soots' father.
Brown said he got a lot of high fives at school when others heard about what he did for his friend.
Soots' family has reached out to Brown's family, inviting them to this weekend's Jaguars game.