SEAGOVILLE, Texas — Every morning at the school bus stop, parents hand off their kids to the driver. "They are the next person that's going to be there to protect your kid," said Giavona Bell, a parent at Dallas Independent School District.
Her son, Preston Bell, is 7 years old. He attends first grade at Seagoville North Elementary School.
On Friday, Sept. 29, Preston and some classmates were on the bus, parked outside of school. Surveillance video shows the kids were talking and having a good time when Preston put something in his mouth.
"The student came up to me. I thought he was sick. He appeared to be throwing up so I opened up the door to take him outside. And when he turned back and looked at me, he was basically letting me know he couldn't breathe," said Raquel Radford Baker, the Dallas ISD bus driver.
Trained in first aid and CPR, Radford Baker said, "I immediately got off the bus, picked him up and ran down the stairs. On my way to the sidewalk, I was doing the Heimlich removal."
Radford Baker said she asked a parent that was sitting on a bench to call 911.
"The whole entire time, I'm telling him, 'Breathe, baby, breathe. I got you. I got you,'" she recalled.
Using the Heimlich maneuver, a quarter flew out of Preston's mouth.
"Raquel saved my life," said Preston.
Since the day of the incident, Giavona, the grateful mother, has wanted to say "thank you" to Radford Baker in person. On Wednesday, they met for the first time.
"Thank you so much. You never know what can happen to them once they get on that bus or whenever they leave home. You don't know if they won't be able to come back. You are truly a lifesaver," Giavona said to Raquel, both in tears.
She has been in transportation for 17 years, and as a team lead driver for the last six years. This is the first time she's had to save a child's life.
"I'm just grateful, and I thank God that I was able to be there at that time," Radford Baker said. "These are my babies, all of them."