NEWARK, N.J. — A security officer leapt over conveyor belt rollers and saved a 2-month-old boy who stopped breathing at a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, newly released video shows.
The footage, released Thursday by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, shows TSA officer Cecilia Morales springing into action to resuscitate the child Dec. 9 after his mother picked him up from a car carrier and noticed he wasn’t breathing.
Morales, an EMT, has been TSA officers for approximately two months. To get the baby breathing, she placed him facedown on her shoulder and patted his back.
According to her, it was the first time that she performed this technique on an infant. Shortly after, a pediatric EMT was called to administer oxygen to the infant.
“I saw the video afterward,” Morales said. “It was the first time I’ve ever seen myself in action, saving a life. The scene was amazing to witness. I felt that my training and experience just took over.”
“Two months on the job and she’s literally a life-saver,” Thomas Carter, the TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey said in a statement. “Officer Morales’s quick reaction and actions helped ensure that this family will have a happy holiday season. Her actions were inspiring.”
