OHIO — An Ohio state trooper had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a motorist who swallowed a bag of pot during a traffic stop. The law enforcement professional is being credited with saving the choking man during the encounter.
Trooper Charles Hoskin is seen on video approaching the driver, Stephan R. Elash, 24, during a traffic stop. Hoskin asks Elash if he is okay as the man gets out of the vehicle and is apparently choking.
Hoskin then successfully performs the Heimlich maneuver on the driver who is under duress, Fox News reported.
“What did you swallow?” Hoskin asks Elash after the the item — small baggy of marijuana — is dislodged from his throat.
“A gram of weed, officer. I’m sorry,” Elash responds.
The Ohio State Patrol commented on the encounter.
“Don’t try to swallow a bag of drugs prior to getting pulled over in an attempt to keep a trooper from finding them. Luckily, Tpr. Hoskin from our Ravenna Post was alert and able to assist the man who was choking on a bag of illegal marijuana,” the Ohio State Patrol’s official Twitter account wrote on Thursday, accompanied by dashcam footage of the incident.
Hoskin notifies the driver that an ambulance is responding to “make sure everything is good.”
“I’m sorry,” Elash repeats.
“I know … [It’s] a minor misdemeanor. You want to die over a minor misdemeanor?” the trooper inquires, eliciting Elash to say, “No.”
According to Fox News, Elash was initially stopped for exceeding 94 miles per hour in a 70 miles per hour zone. As a result, he was cited for speeding and failing to wear a seatbelt. He also received a misdemeanor summons for marijuana possession.
OSP did not specify if the trooper recovered the evidence.
