After stopping a car for speeding, a South Carolina sheriff's deputy was able to get an unresponsive 12-day-old in the car to start breathing again, and the entire lifesaving encounter was captured on his body camera.
Berkeley County Sheriff's Office Deputy William Kimbro stopped the vehicle for speeding June 11 in the Summerville area, which is about 40 minutes northwest of Charleston, according to a statement posted by the sheriff's department Thursday. A woman sitting in the passenger seat told him her baby had stopped breathing after drinking from a bottle.
Kimbro's bodycam footage shows he asked the mother the baby's name, and then placed the newborn on her mother's lap.
"Riley, Riley, hey baby," Kimbro says. "I’m going to check for a pulse. OK, I got a pulse, she’s got a pulse."
He begins tapping on the baby's chest, as he asks the mother what happened. She responds that the baby was sleeping when she began choking on milk.
"Come on baby, cry for me, cry for me. Open those eyes for me," Kimbro urges as he continues to tap the baby's chest.
Riley lets out a small cry.
"There you go. As long as she’s crying like that, she’s breathing," Kimbro assures the mother, but adds, "Her lips are a little blue, I’m worried about her circulation."
He then begins rubbing the baby's chest. "There you go. Her stomach's moving, her chest is moving. She’s breathing. She’s breathing," Kimbo says as emergency medical responders arrive.
He explains to the responders what happened and what kind of aid he has administered before handing the baby over. "I didn’t feel a heartbeat earlier so I started massaging her heart, and now I feel it. It’s real strong now," Kimbro says.
"Deputy Kimbro took the baby’s limp and cyanotic body and performed lifesaving first aid. As a result, he was able to get the baby to breathe again until EMS could arrive," a statement from the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office said. "Because of Deputy Kimbro’s steadfast, professional and heroic response, the 12-day old baby was able to live." Kimbro was awarded a “Life-Saving Medal," the statement said.
Carli R. Drayton, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, told NBC News on Friday that the baby is doing well.
