High school hero saves life of his choking friend

LA CROSSE, Wis. — A Wisconsin high schooler is being hailed a hero after he saved a choking classmate.

Ian Brown was eating lunch Wednesday at Central High School in La Crosse, when his friend Will Olson began motioning that he was choking.

Brown admits the group at the table thought he was joking, but when Olson's face and neck began changing color, Brown said he realized he had to jump into action.

He gave Olson the Heimlich maneuver and was able to dislodge the food from his throat.

Brown is being praised for his quick thinking and calmness under pressure.

Brown said he told his friend, "'You know, I'd rather have you bruised and banged up than have you dead.' I said that that was my number one thing is that I'm either going to break some ribs or I'm going to hurt you somewhere else but at least you're going to be alive to tell about it."

Olson made a full recovery and said, "I feel thankful that I had Ian there. He had the training, no one else did, and I was just really, really lucky he was there at the time."

Brown credits the training he received in a youth police training program.

Cox Media Group