Teacher saves third grader from choking in heroic video: 'This could have been very tragic'
A New Jersey teacher is being called a hero after a video went viral of her saving a third grader choking on a bottle cap.
JaNeice Jenkins was in class at East Orange Community Charter when her student, Robert Stonaker, 9, was trying to drink water and began choking, FOX 5 NY reported.
"This could have been very tragic, but I'm glad it wasn't," Jenkins told the outlet.
In the video, Stonaker runs to a sink and then to Jenkins desk to let her know he was choking. Jenkins jumps into action and begins performing the Heimlich maneuver.
"I was opening the bottle with my mouth, and then I started with my hand and I couldn't open it, so I did it with my mouth and then the water pushed it into my throat," Stonaker told FOX 5 NY.
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The cap was dislodged and Jenkins is seen wiping Stonaker's face.
“Once he was safe, I got him to the nurse and I felt 100% better,” Jenkins told NJ. “Then my emotions got the best of me in hindsight thinking of what could’ve happened. Thank God, I was able to do what I did."
As for Stonaker he told FOX 5 NY he learned that he's "not supposed to open the bottle with my mouth anymore."
Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.