Teacher, driving home from work, pulls over to save choking 100-year-old woman with Heimlich maneuver

A teacher in Hawaii, who was on his way home from school, used the Heimlich maneuver to rescue a 100-year-old woman who was seen choking in the middle of the road.

A centenarian survived a choking incident while riding in a car with her daughter in Hawaii, thanks to a good Samaritan who jumped into action.

"She started choking, and it sounds like it was a complete airway obstruction," James Ireland, M.D., director of the Honolulu Emergency Services department, where the woman was treated, told Fox News Digital. 

"She was not able to move any air at all, so that is a true desperate emergency that really needs immediate action," Ireland added. "They were 10 to 15 minutes from the nearest hospital."

NY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT, AGE 7, SAVED CHOKING CLASSMATE WITH HEIMLICH MANEUVER

Ryan Roberts, 45, a ceramics teacher at the Iolani School in Honolulu, was heading home after work with his two sons on March 29 when he noticed a car in the left lane was stopped. 

"The passenger door was open, so it was blocking part of the middle lane," Roberts, the man who saved the woman, told Fox News Digital.

The woman, who was reportedly 100 years old, looked panicked, according to Roberts.

"This woman is going to get hurt," Roberts said he told his sons. "She's standing in the middle of the road." 

NY TEACHERS'S ‘HEROIC' RESCUE OF STUDENT CHOKING ON BOTTLE CAP CAUGHT ON VIDEO: ‘I JUST WENT INTO ACTION’

Ireland said a number of good Samaritans had also pulled their cars over to help.

"But this teacher [Roberts] who had just gotten off work and had splashes of paint and clay on him because he works as a ceramics teacher, just springs into action," Ireland explained.

Roberts said he remembers pulling his car over and running to where the woman was struggling to breathe. 

"It turned out to be a daughter trying to help her mother who was choking," Roberts said. "The daughter was kind of frantic and the mother wasn't doing too well at that point. She was gasping, starting to pass out."

The woman had been choking on a cough lozenge, according to Ireland.

ALABAMA FAMILY LEARNS VETERAN DAD SECRETLY PAID NEIGHBORS' PHARMACY BILLS FOR A DECADE: 'WANTED NO CREDIT'

Roberts said he reached forth woman, spun her around and administered the Heimlich maneuver "gently" because he was afraid of hurting her – but nothing happened.

"I tried again a little harder," Roberts said. "I gave her [the Heimlich] a third time pretty good. She coughed quite a bit, some stuff came out and then she started crying. I said, ‘Hey, if you're crying, you're breathing, so stop crying and just concentrate on breathing. You're OK.’" 

Roberts said that after he saved the woman, he noticed a driver pulling up who was wearing an official badge.

ARIZONA ARMY VET, 91, IS ROBBED OF $7K CASH WHILE PUMPING GAS. NOW, HIS COMMUNITY IS STEPPING IN

"I flagged him down real quick, and it turned out he was an EMS and that was wonderful," Roberts said. 

 Roberts said the daughter of the 100-year-old woman came to give him a thank-you hug.

"I told her, ‘I’m glad everything is OK," Roberts said. "When the fire department pulled up, I didn't think I was needed anymore, so I just ducked out and left."

ARIZONA ARMY VET, 91, IS ROBBED OF $7K CASH WHILE PUMPING GAS. NOW HIS COMMUNITY IS STEPPING IN

The woman who Roberts had saved was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition, according to Ireland. He added that Roberts took off without even leaving his name. 

"He didn’t need any recognition," Ireland said. "He just made sure she was OK, thanked the rescuers who came and off he went. Not seeking the limelight, not seeking any accolades. But he sure deserves them." 

Roberts was, however, had been wearing a shirt with his school logo on it — so, Ireland was able to track him down the next day. 

"We have this expression about our school called, ‘One Team’ because we’re very collectivist in terms of our culture," Tim Cottrell, head of school at the Iolani School, told Fox News Digital. 

FACEBOOK COMMUNITY RUSHES TO AID GEORGIA BOY WHO WAS MAULED BY THREE PIT BULLS

"We're an all for one, one for all, community and humility is a big part of who we are as a school," he added. "So, somebody like Ryan [Roberts], he's not going to toot his own horn." 

Roberts is part of a legacy of teachers at the Iolani School, Cottrell said. 

Roberts' father, Dave Roberts, was the ceramics teacher there and was "one of those incredibly iconic teachers." Roberts' Uncle Steve worked on the grounds crew.

TEENAGER RECALLS HARROWING ORDEAL AFTER HE RESCUES 83-YEAR-OLD MAN AND HIS DOG FROM ICY IOWA LAKE

"Ryan and his father still give evening ceramics courses where alums from 30 years ago will come and take classes," he added.

And apparently, this was not Roberts’ first time to save someone’s life — it’s his fifth, Cottrell said.

"He's resuscitated a number of people with CPR. It takes that kind of awareness in those situations to recognize that something was going on, but then he immediately knew, ‘OK, I've got to do something,'" Cottrell said.

GOOD SAMARITANS, POLICE IN FLORIDA RESCUE GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, CHILD TRAPPED UNDER CAR IN PARKING LOT: VIDEO

He added that all his faculty members are trained in CPR, and they also train students starting in ninth grade.

In fact, Roberts and his coworkers had renewed their CPR training just two weeks before Roberts had saved the woman on the roadside, according to Cottrell.

Roberts said the experience has turned into a local campaign to become certified in lifesaving skills.

"If you can, you just become a resource to your community," Roberts added

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

Ireland said the city is planning to recognize Roberts with a certificate, honoring him as a good Samaritan. 

"Teachers have this innate sense," Ireland said. "There’s something in them that they want to help, they want to serve. I hope his story will inspire others to learn CPR and learn these techniques that you could need at a moment's notice."

Fox News Digital has requested interviews with the 100-year-old woman whom Roberts saved, and the woman's family through Honolulu EMS.

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.