Hot dog causes near death experience, officer saves woman

KALAMAZOO, Mich.— A Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officer came to the rescue of a woman who was choking in her car. Saturday morning, Officer Jason Gates initiated a traffic stop in the 4100 block of S. Burdick St. As he approached the vehicle, he found the female driver was in respiratory distress. Officer Gates asked the driver if she we was alright, but quickly realized she was unable to breathe. Then the officer administered a couple of back blows in an attempt to dislodge the unknown item in the woman’s throat. The back blows did not work, so Officer Gates removed the woman from the driver’s seat of the vehicle. He then used the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the hot dog from the woman’s throat. The woman immediately began crying and threw herself into Officer Gates’ arms, thanking him for saving her life.