A police officer took quick action Thursday to save the life of a 3-year-old boy by performing CPR.
Prince George's County Police Officer Ariel Acosta was on a traffic stop when he heard a call for a child not breathing at approximately 5 p.m. When he arrived to the home in Oxon Hill, she found the boy not breathing and blue. He had tangled himself in window blind cords.
"I immediately began to do some chest compressions," Acosta said. "At that time, the grandmother asked what she could do to help. I advised her that she could give a breath for the child. So she gave that breath...and the child began to cough and started breathing on his own."
Acosta, a 5-year veteran of the force, said he was just doing his job. The boy was hospitalized for observation and is expected to be okay.
Window blinds are one of the top hidden hazards in the home, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The commission says about once a month a child dies after becoming tangled in a window cord.
Parents are advised to use cordless blinds in homes with young children. If the installation of cordless blinds is not possible, existing shades and blinds could be examined for exposed cords. Cords should be placed out of reach and furniture near the window should be moved. A tension device can also be installed on nylon cords to keep them taunt.
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