Imperial Valley News

Laredo, Texas - An American Red Cross Certified United States Customs and Border Protection officer at a Laredo, Texas bridge administered first aid to a nine-month old infant girl by opening her airway and saving her life Saturday night.

At about 9:30 p.m. CBP Officer Pedro A. Ortegon was performing routine primary inspections on vehicles arriving at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge from Mexico when he noticed a vehicle honking repeatedly in an adjacent lane. As Officer Ortegon made his way toward the honking vehicle, he noticed a woman in a hysterical state who had jumped out of the vehicle holding an infant child.

The woman was crying and yelling in Spanish “My baby is choking and not breathing.” Officer Ortegon immediately took the child from the mother’s arms, assessed the situation and noticed that the baby was blue in color and not breathing. While holding the child, he yelled out to another CBP officer to call 911. While still holding the infant in his arms, the Officer Ortegon administered CPR.

After several blows to the back, a substance was expelled from the infant’s mouth. The infant began to cry and her breathing resumed. After several minutes, an EMS ambulance arrived and checked the infant’s vital signs and returned the baby to her mother’s care without any need for further medical attention.

Officer Ortegon is a certified CPR instructor for the American Red Cross. He noted that in his seven years as a certified CPR instructor, this was the first time he had to use it.

“Officer Ortegon reacted immediately and without hesitation administered the life-saving first aid that his trained instinct guided him to perform,” said Gene Garza, CBP Port Director, Laredo. “Saving an infant’s life makes all those years of CPR training truly worth it. This act of bravery and heroic instinct truly merits recognition. How often can anyone say that they saved a life, and in this case of someone of such a tender age. I am extremely proud of Officer Ortegon and his actions.”