LASD sergeant saves woman from choking on burrito in Long Beach

CARSON, Calif. (KABC) -- A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy saved a woman from choking on a burrito in Long Beach.

Yasmin Lopez said she came close to dying Friday night as she and her boyfriend ate dinner in Long Beach. She was about to finish a burrito when she started choking.

Her boyfriend had been walking to the car, but rushed back to help by performing the Heimlich maneuver.

At that moment, a sheriff's sergeant happened to be driving by and saw the commotion.

"I see a female in distress. I see what appears to be a male assaulting her. I stop my patrol car, got out and the male immediately said 'She's choking! She's choking!'" Sgt. Ronald Reynolds said.

He immediately started the Heimlich maneuver on Lopez. Reynolds said everything he was trying didn't appear to be working. As the minutes ticked by, Lopez started to panic.

"I was freaking out because I couldn't get it up. They couldn't get it out," she said.

Reynolds said he then leaned Lopez over a railing and put her sternum on the rail as he tried to push on her back to dislodge the piece of food.

"The last one he told me to breathe in, so I tried breathing in and I did and he pumped my stomach. It came up into my throat and I was able to go in and grab it and I pulled it out," Lopez said.

Lopez said Reynolds is a hero.

"Her boyfriend said, 'You've restored my faith in cops.' And that felt good," Reynolds said.