Moreno Valley

Restaurant Server Saves Customer During Choking Accident

A Moreno Valley restaurant server saves a customer's life when she noticed they began choking on food.

NBC Universal, Inc.

A local restaurant server is being called a real life superhero after saving a customer's life during a choking accident.

The act was caught on video last week of Lacy Guptill a server at a Golden Corral in Moreno Valley saving a customer.

Video shows when a customer at the restaurant suddenly starts choking on a piece of steak.

The customer's three young children were unsure of what was happening or what they should do.

"They were just shocked," Guptill said. "They were just kids."

Guptill's instincts kicked in and that's when she jumped into action.

"I was just walking around checking my tables and somehow I walked up to this guy and talked to his family and didn't realize he was choking to the left of me and I looked down and 'oh he's choking'," Guptill said. "I kind of used the chair as a backboard to help me support him because I'm a girl and so I can't pick up a full size man."

Guptill got the man into the Heimlich maneuver, something she learned years ago while training as an EMT eventually working as a dispatcher. Guptill also taught first aid and CPR.

"I just used my past knowledge and it just kind of 'oh yeah I remember that,'" Guptill said. "I think everyone should learn CPR, you never know when you are going to use it."

After some tense moments the customer coughs up the piece of steak and can finally breathe again.

"It really takes a lot to step into action and to just react and say 'what are we going to do,'" said Marisol Aveler the general manager of the restaurant. "I was very proud of her."

Fellow employees are not surprised that Guptill jumped into action like a superhero.

"She's a good person she has a big heart," Aveler said. "She cares about everyone in general."

This is not the first time Guptill has helped someone during a health crisis.

In 2019, she told us she was at a Riverside house party when boxer Izaac Colunga was shot. Guptill says she immediately put pressure on his wound.

"I held it until the EMT came and luckily he's with us here today," Guptill said.

Guptill says she gave up her career in emgergency response for personal reasons after her mother died. But she's glad she can still use those skills when needed.

"I love Superman so who doesn't want to try and be there when they are needed," Guptill said.

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