MANCHESTER – A Township detective was on duty eating lunch when he rescued a young girl who was choking.
A family was eating lunch at the Café Napoli restaurant in the Manchester Plaza shopping center on July 14 when a girl started choking and was unable to breathe, police said.
Her uncle attempted the Heimlich maneuver but wasn’t successful. Fortunately, Detective Richard Jupinka was on duty, eating lunch at the restaurant.
“Detective Jupinka, realizing that the child’s life was in danger, immediately went to the child’s table as her uncle attempted the Heimlich maneuver, unsuccessfully,” police said. “At that point, Det. Jupinka assumed care of the child and through the use of the Heimlich maneuver, he was able to quickly clear the food obstruction from the child’s airway.”
After that, the child began breathing normally. The child’s family declined any further medical attention and thanked Jupinka for saving the young girl’s life.
“Thankfully, one of our officers was in the right place at the right time. Had he not been there, this incident could have ended much differently,” Chief Robert Dolan said.
