A 15-year-old McDonald’s employee has been commended for her bravery after she saved the life of a customer who was choking on a chicken nugget.
Sydney Raley, a fast food employee of Sydney Raley from Minneapolis, Minnesota, was on duty Saturday afternoon.
She claimed she was working a typical shift at a drive-thru, taking customers’ food orders, when the unexpected occurred.
She stated that after serving one customer, she returned to the window to inform them that the rest of their order was on its way.
But it was only then that she observed the woman choking on a chicken nugget. Sydney Raley was working a Saturday shift.
She told CNN: “She was coughing like crazy, and I noticed she was gagging Her daughter was in the passenger seat and she looked so freaked out. I immediately knew ‘Oh, no, she’s choking.”
Sydney said she told her manager and the woman’s daughter to phone 911 before jumping through the window to save the woman.
She told the outlet that when she was 11, she took a Red Cross babysitter course and learned the Heimlich maneuver, which she said ‘immediately kicked in.’
After the manoeuvre didn’t work the first few times she called on another person to help.
She said: ‘”We worked together and were able to successfully dislodge the food from her throat.”
The nugget was dislodged and the woman was able to breathe again before officers arrived on the scene and offered a reward to the heroic staffer.
She said: “They said, ‘Congratulations you’re a lifesaver; you’re a hero.'”
Police were said to have given her $100 from a fund they use for people who do good work in the community.
Restaurant owner and operator Paul Ostergaard told the outlet he was ‘incredibly proud’ of Sydney’s ‘quick and heroic actions.’
He said: “Sydney truly personifies what it is to be a hero and we are incredibly lucky to have her as a highly-valued crew member at our Eden Prairie restaurant location.
“We are excited to see all of the well-deserved recognition she has received from the community and will continue to celebrate her courageous efforts of literally jumping out of the drive-thru window to provide aid to a customer in need.”
