CCTV shows bus driver save 6-year-old boy from choking on coin

“He was just red and gasping for air”

A bus driver has been lauded as a hero after CCTV footage of her saving a 6-year-old’s life was released.

In the video, Ginger Maxville can be seen performing the Heimlich Manoeuvre on a young boy, who was choking on a coin he had accidentally swallowed.

The boy and his sister can be seen calling out to Mrs Maxville, before she grabs the youngster and performs the life-saving technique.

Mrs Maxville is a special needs teaching assistant as well as a bus driver for Mannford Public Schools in Oklahoma.

She told KTUL-TV that she first thought the boy was just playing around.

“I thought he was just teasing me and I thought he was just not following my instructions and not sitting down,” she said.

Once she realised the gravity of the situation however, Mrs Maxville reacted quickly.

“I made sure the bus was secure, went back and grabbed the student,” she told ABC News.

“He was just red and gasping for air.”

Mrs Maxville even agreed to let the boy keep his coin, although only if he never swallowed it again.

The boy’s mother was especially grateful for the teacher’s actions, calling her “an angel in our eyes”.