School district to honor bus driver who saved choking student

A quick-thinking Riverhead bus driver is being honored for saving a Pulaski Street School student from choking, the school district announced in a press release Monday.

Martin Doelger was picking up students after school Friday when a sixth grade girl approached him with a “horrified look on her face,” according to the press release.

Mr. Doelger performed the Heimlich maneuver on the student after noticing she was choking on a doughnut. He also called out for a teacher to get help.

Mr. Doelger, who told the district he was only doing “what he had to do,” had never before used the technique for dislodging food. He learned it through training with a previous employer.

“I’m just glad it worked out and she is okay,” he said in a press release.

The district will honor Mr. Doelger at its board of education meeting Tuesday night.

“We are so grateful for the quick action that Martin took,” superintendent Aurelia Henriquez said in a statement. “He truly deserves to be recognized.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the student attended Riverhead Middle School. We have updated the post and we regret the error.