Dallas mayor becomes a hero after saving choking woman's life

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings can definitely count on Helen Mayer's vote during the next election: On Saturday, he saved her life after she choked on a piece of meat.

Mayer had just started to eat her fajitas at the El Fenix restaurant when she started to choke, WFAA reports. She was dining with eight family members, who started to scream when they saw what was happening. "When I turned around I started gasping for air," Mayer said. "I remember standing up, and that's about all I remember. The next thing I knew, this gentleman had picked me up from behind and did the Heimlich maneuver. I came around, and it was the mayor of Dallas. It was like he was my hero."

Rawlings was eating with his son, Gunnar, and heard the commotion behind him. He saw Mayer was "totally red" and "wasn't breathing," and ran to perform the Heimlich; he said he learned the life-saving technique when he was a Boy Scout and again as a lifeguard, and saved another person about five years ago. It was a proud moment for Gunnar, who said his dad had "the right moves" that day. "Everyone clapped," he told WFAA. "It was kind of out of a movie script."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up