Dispatcher honored for helping choking woman
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IDAHO FALLS – Owen Auble is the newest recipient of the Idaho Falls Police Department’s Life Saving Award.
Chief Bryce Johnson presented the 20-year-old Idaho Falls man with the award during a ceremony Friday night. The award is for an emergency Auble responded to last May.
Auble tells EastIdahoNews.com what happened.
“A daughter called 911 and said her mom was choking on a piece of sausage. I was able to get paramedics dispatched (to her house) and walk her through the Heimlich maneuver,” Auble recalls. “At the time, (the mother) wasn’t breathing very well and was almost unconscious.”
By the time paramedics got there, the woman was talking and breathing on her own. Auble is grateful for the part he played in saving her life.
Auble started working as a dispatcher a little over a year ago. It’s something he’s wanted to do since he was in elementary school.
He remembers being in a school bus accident as a kid and hearing someone call 911. He was awe-struck by the emergency responders who came to their rescue.
“Everybody coming together for the same type of call was really cool and it was something I wanted to do,” says Auble.
He completed an EMS course in Idaho Falls School District 91’s Career Technical Education Center as a high school student and it’s gratifying to him to know he has the skills to step in and help someone during an emergency.
Kay Gardner, his former EMS instructor, is proud of Auble for his quick actions during a hit-and-run in Ammon last Tuesday night. It happened on Derrald Avenue between Sportsman’s Warehouse and Alpine Jewelers.
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Police reported the driver of a dark-colored extended cab pickup traveling east on Derrald Avenue hit a man walking across the street.
Auble was eating dinner at The Firehouse Grill and was alerted by the PulsePoint app on his phone that someone in his area needed CPR. He immediately ran outside and found a group of people around a man lying face down in the middle of the road.
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After assessing the situation, Auble determined the guy wasn’t breathing and his heart wasn’t beating.
“I started CPR and he was still unresponsive and unconscious, but was breathing when the paramedics got there (about two minutes later),” he says.
The victim, who police have not identified, was taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Auble says he survived.
The suspect took off after hitting the guy. He’s since been located by authorities. No further details have been released.
Auble is grateful for the award and for those who have helped him along the way, including Gardner.
He recommends everyone become certified in CPR, even if they aren’t looking for a career in emergency services.
“It’s a short two or three hour class, but you never know when you’re going to be there when someone needs it. It could mean the difference between life or death for somebody,” he says.
