Raquel Radford Baker has had a lot of jobs over the years. She’s been a member of the military, an employee of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, and a mother. But for the past 17 years, Baker has been a school bus driver for the Dallas Independent School District.
Now, she can also add hero to her resume. Last month, Baker saved the life of a 7-year-old boy who had accidentally swallowed a quarter and was choking.
Preston alerted Baker once he realized he was choking.
The incident, which was caught on tape, took place September 29. Preston, a first grader, was slumping in his seat on the bus, when he suddenly sat up, realizing that the quarter he had been holding above his open mouth had slipped down into his throat. He got up and walked to Baker at the front of the bus and tapped her for help.
“I was just trying to tell her that I just choked on a quarter, and it hurts very bad,” Preston told KXAS.
‘Baby, breathe. Baby, breathe. I got you. Breathe,’ Baker told Preston as she performed the Heimlich maneuver.
Initially, Baker thought Preston was nauseous, but eventually, she heard him say something about a coin and she sprang into action. She grabbed him from behind and carried him off the bus.
When she got to a bench in front of the school, she told a nearby parent to call 911 as she started performing the Heimlich maneuver, which she’d learned during the company’s training sessions.
“I’m saying, ‘Baby, breathe. Baby, breathe. I got you. Breathe,'” Baker told Fox 4 News. Recalling that moment, Baker, getting teary, said the only thought running through her mind was, “I have to save this baby. I have to save him.”
Eventually, Preston expelled the quarter.
Before that, however, Preston had gone limp and his face was turning blue. He was no longer able to speak. Baker continued the Heimlich.
Moments later, the woman near the bench said, “There’s a quarter there.” That’s when Preston stepped to the side and said, “Miss Rocky, I’m okay, I can breathe. I can breathe.”
Baker said that moment brought powerful relief. “I can’t believe that I reversed this whole thing that could have really went wrong. I’m just grateful,” she said.
Preston’s mom said Baker is a part of the family now.
What makes this heartwarming story even more miraculous is the fact that Baker was a substitute driver on the day in happened.
“I feel like God placed me there for a reason, Baker told Fox 4. “If I wasn’t there, I don’t know what the other driver may have done. I was nervous at the time but I just couldn’t panic. All I said was, ‘God, help me save this baby.’”
Afterward, the school nurse called Preston’s mom, Giavona Bell. Even though she had been told her son was all right, she still panicked. She didn’t calm down until she saw her son for herself.
Bell said Baker is a hero and now considered family. “She’s a part of us, right?” she asked Preston in an interview with KXAS. The first grader nodded in agreement.
Baker called the students she transports ‘precious cargo.’
Bell said the incident has inspired her to get trained in CPR.
It’s also clear that Baker takes her job as a bus driver seriously. In an interview with The Hub, she explained that she loves seeing these kids smile and picking them up and returning them safely home to their parents.
“One thing I love about transporting students is that I am transporting future NFL players, NBA players, future doctors, nurses, attorneys, lawyers, law enforcement etc. They are the most precious gift ever to me, and I am grateful and feel privileged to transport such precious cargo,” she said.