Helicopter lands in street to save choking baby

When a 1-year-old was choking Friday morning, the Huntington Beach police helicopter crew landed near his house and saved his life, authorities said.

Emergency dispatchers got a 911 call at 11:45 a.m. from a distraught mother who said her son was choking, police said. Because she was so upset, she had trouble understanding the first aid instructions dispatchers tried to give her, according to authorities.

An emergency response team was on its way, but they were held up by road construction on Beach Boulevard, near the child’s home in the 18300 block of Springtime Lane. But the police helicopter was already nearby and quickly landed in the street.

Pilot Rick McNaughton and observer R.J. Garwood left the helicopter.

Garwood quickly dislodged an object stuck in the child’s throat, and he was rushed to Huntington Beach Hospital for observation and is listed in good condition, authorities said.

Fire department paramedics who arrived said Garwood and McNaughton saved the boy not only from death, but from brain damage as well, according to police.

— Michael Alexander