Emily Schoen of Oakdale saves driving instructor who was choking

An Oakdale teen taking her first driver’s education class was faced with an unexpected emergency when her instructor started choking.

Emily Schoen, a junior at Connetquot High School in Bohemia, performed the Heimlich maneuver on instructor Diana Marino during their first class together in early September, when the teen said she noticed the woman was in distress after putting a Life Savers candy in her mouth.

The pair were traveling in a Toyota Corolla just south of the school on Norman Drive at the time, Schoen, 17, said. They were accompanied by three other female students, who were sitting in the backseat.

“I pulled over because we were switching drivers, and when I went to get out of the car I heard Diana try to say something, but all of a sudden something was caught in her throat,” Schoen said. “I started patting her on the back at first, because I thought she was just coughing a little bit. But then she started shaking her head and waving her hands around like crazy.”

Schoen said everyone then got out of the car, and she walked around to the passenger side to see if she could help Marino. The teen then performed the Heimlich maneuver and successfully dislodged the candy from Marino’s throat within seconds, Schoen said.

“Everybody was shaking,” said Schoen, who estimated that the episode lasted close to two minutes. “In my head I was thinking, ‘If I do this wrong I could break her ribcage.’ I guess I got her just right, because she said it was perfect.”

Marino, who is employed by All Care Driving School in Ronkonkoma, said the teen did a “great job.”

“Truthfully, if it wasn’t for her, I probably would’ve been dead,” said Marino, 62, of West Babylon. “I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t get it up. I joked with her afterward and said, ‘This is a sure way to pass driver’s ed.’  ”

Schoen said she learned the Heimlich maneuver when she was 9 years old after her younger brother, Anthony, was choking on a pizza roll and her grandfather, Brian, used the emergency procedure to help clear the obstruction. Her grandfather then taught her the maneuver and she has remembered it ever since, she said.

The teen received a certificate of recognition for her aid to Marino from the Connetquot school district’s Board of Education in early October.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Emily for her quick thinking,” said Connetquot High School Principal Michael Moran. “For someone so young to have those instincts is truly incredible.”

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.