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Wentzville student saves 8th grader from choking during school bus ride

"They said if he wouldn't have given me the Heimlich I would not be here," Kaelie said. "I think that he’s my hero."

WENTZVILLE, Mo - A girl is alive, thanks to a fast-acting teen who saved her from choking while riding on a school bus.

Kaelie Burk was heading home from Wentzville Middle School on bus 42, when she said someone up front tossed a quarter towards the back of the bus.

"it, I guess, happened to land in my throat,” she said.

Austin Medlock was just a couple of seats away from Kaelie and he saw the freak accident.

"What are the chances of that just happening from someone randomly flicking a quarter?" he said.

He stood up and performed the Heimlich Maneuver on her, something he learned in health class at Holt High School.

"It didn't get the quarter all the way out but at least she was able to breathe,” Austin said.

X-rays showed the quarter in Kaelie’s throat. Doctors were able to remove it.

“They said if he wouldn't have given me the Heimlich I would not be here,” Kaelie said. “I think that he’s my hero.”

A hero – making his mom proud.

"Austin has autism spectrum disorder, and just to know that he was in tune with what was going on on a rowdy bus is amazing to me. And he did exactly what you're supposed to do,” Jeanie Blizzard said.

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