'He can't die in my arms': Video shows moments Texas school bus driver saves boy from choking

ByLara Spencer ABCNews logo
Friday, October 20, 2023
Hero bus driver saves little boy from choking on coin
A Texas school bus driver is being hailed a hero after jumping in to quickly save a 7-year-old who began choking.

DALLAS, Texas -- A Texas school bus driver is being hailed a hero after jumping into action to quickly save a 7-year-old who began choking. The harrowing moments were all caught on camera.

It all happened as the bus just pulled into a Dallas elementary school.

The video shows young Preston Bell laughing with other students. Then, he appears to put something in his mouth before walking up to his bus driver, Raquel Radford Baker, motioning for help.

"He appeared to be sick, as if he needed to throw up," Baker recalled.

But he wasn't throwing up.

"I told him to open the door and go ahead and throw up. And he turned back to me and he was -- look like he was in trouble with breathing," Baker said.

Baker then carried Bell off the bus, performing the Heimlich maneuver along the way.

"He can't die in my arms. I have to save his life. God, help me. Help him,' Baker recalled.

The bus driver, who is trained in CPR, performed multiple rounds of the Heimlich maneuver until a quarter came out.

"I think she's my hero because she saved my life," Bell said.

On Thursday, Bell, along with his mom Gia, were reunited with Baker and they got to thank her.

"I was able to look at her in her eyes and tell her how much I thanked her for saving my son's life that day," Gia said.