Trooper saves mom choking on seat belt after 3-year-old slipped out of car seat

An alert Florida state trooper rescued a woman who was choking on a seat belt after she got entangled while trying to get her 3-year-old daughter fastened back into her car seat. The strange incident occurred while the family was returning home after a Thanksgiving dinner.

The woman, who wished to remain unnamed, was in the passenger seat of the family’s Toyota Scion, her husband was driving and their daughter was in the back seat. The child slipped out of her car seat and in an attempt to get her fastened back in while the vehicle was still moving, the 37-year-old mom became trapped in her own seat belt.

The mom told WTSP:

“Maybe I pull down a little bit. I didn’t realize the whole thing was wrapped around it. I was just once around my neck. I turned around to put her back in it (the car seat), so he wouldn’t have to pull over and this thing it was just stuck… He’s pulling on it, but this thing would not give. I was panicking, and it kept getting tighter. Then, that was it. At that point, it just got so bad. I blacked out at that point.”

With the situation desperate, the husband pulled over and tried flagging down traffic but motorists continued to pass by until Trooper Brad Wagner stopped. Wagner grabbed a knife and cut the belt freeing the woman.

This is the 2nd life that Wagner is credited with saving this fall.

Via the Florida Highway Patrol:

“This incident follows a September 18th traffic crash in which Trooper Wagner was nearby and responded quickly to a traffic crash on SR-589 near Waters Avenue. During this incident Trooper Wagner found an unconscious driver who had been ejected onto the roadway; Wagner responded quickly by providing CPR which eventually saved that motorist as well.”

The mother was grateful for Wagner’s actions as she was given a whole new appreciation for Thanksgiving. “Thank you! Because he just saved my life. I will always be thankful for that,” she said.