Mansfield officer saves woman who was choking on interstate

MANSFIELD, Texas - A North Texas woman is thanking the quick actions of a Mansfield police officer who saved her life by coming to her rescue when she was choking.

This all went down on the side of a busy interstate.

A Mansfield police officer was actually driving through Fort Worth when he encountered the woman in distress.

Thanks to his quick action, she's alive today.

"I saw she needed help, so I did what I could do," Mansfield PD officer Chad Stevens.

Stevens was driving his patrol car eastbound on Interstate 20, near Anglin Road in Fort Worth, back on January 13, when noticed a white car driving erratically.

"The flashers were on, she was swerving back and forth, speeding up and slowing down. So I could tell they were in some type of distress," Stevens recalled.

Officer Stevens got up beside the driver to get a closer look.

"When I got up beside her, she was going like this and waving, I guess, I need help," he said.

Stevens activated his emergency lights and pulled up behind her. His body camera video captured what happened next.

Stevens performed the Heimlich maneuver, and on the fourth thrust, the object blocking her airway came out.

He ran back to his cruiser to radio for help.

"I got the object removed from her throat. If you can start medics to my location, please," he said.

Samantha, who asked that we not use her last name, said she was chewing gum when a driver cut her off on the interstate. She gasped, and the gum got stuck in her throat.

Samantha declined further medical treatment.

Officer Stevens said he's never had to perform the Heimlich maneuver before, but his training just kicked in.

"I saw you coming on, I was trying to wave you down. I had my hazards on for like 15 minutes just trying to breathe through the gum," Samantha said.

Stevens said the dramatic encounter lasted maybe seven minutes. 

Samantha drove on to her final destination, and for Stevens, it was on to the next call.

"I'm glad that I was at the right place at the right time. Like I said, that's what we're here to do," Stevens said. "It's different every day. It keeps you on your toes."