Mom thanks Rockwall cheerleader for saving choking toddler

ROCKWALL, Texas - A mother and her young son met the teenager who saved them from a near tragedy.

They hadn’t seen each other since the Rockwall High School cheerleader stopped the toddler from choking during a homecoming parade.

Tyra Winters was in her school’s parade when she heard someone yelling for help. She saw a 2-year-old choking on a piece of candy and stepped in at the right time.

Winters performed the Heimlich maneuver and got the boy breathing again.

“I’m really blessed that I could be there at the time because the story could have went 1,000 ways. I’m just happy it went the way it did. I’m glad the kid came out okay,” she said.

“I don’t really have any words. The words that seem that you would say to anyone is thank you. But those words don’t seem good enough. I think all I can be in this moment is thankful,” said Nicole Hornback, the boy’s mom.

Winters’ mom is a healthcare provider and had trained her daughter to do the maneuver just in case it was ever needed.