Lifeguard Saves Child On Boardwalk

Peter LaQuaglia. (Photo courtesy Seaside Heights Beach Patrol)
Peter LaQuaglia. (Photo courtesy Seaside Heights Beach Patrol)

SEASIDE HEIGHTS – He wasn’t guarding the beach but eating lunch at the Spicy Cantina when he saved a life June 7.

Seaside Heights lifeguard Peter LaQuaglia jumped into action when screams erupted nearby from another eatery. A woman’s 10-month-old grandson was choking a piece of plastic from a water bottle. The child wasn’t breathing.

LaQuaglia rushed to the child, flipped him over on his knee, and patted his back – Heimlich for babies. Once the child started coughing up the plastic piece, the lifeguard gently checked the child’ mouth for any other obstructions, and found none.

Tri Boro First Aid arrived on the scene and checked the child, who is expected to make a full recovery.

The story of the rescue was first shared on BeachPatrolSeasideHeights’ Instagram page and picked up by news outlets throughout the region.

LaQuaglia, in his fifth year as a lifeguard with the borough, is a former first team All-Shore Linebacker for Toms River High School North. A student at McDaniel College in Maryland for the last two years, he’ll be transferring as a junior to University of Central Florida for the fall semester.