A three-year-old boy who was choking and not breathing was rescued by a Placentia police officer and Brea Fire Department paramedics, it was reported Wednesday.

Officers responded about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday to the Stater Brothers parking lot at Rose Drive and Imperial Highway in Placentia, according to a statement from the Placentia Police Department.

The first officer on scene began “back blows” in an attempt to clear the child’s obstructed airway, the statement said.

An ambulance arrived moments later and the officer and two paramedics from the Brea Fire Department jumped in the ambulance to continue life saving measures while en route to Placentia Linda Hospital at 1301 N. Rose Dr., police said.

Once they arrived at the hospital, the boy’s airway was cleared and he was able to breathe on his own again, said police.

The obstruction turned out to be a chicken nugget the boy had been eating. Tuesday was the boy’s third birthday, police said.

It was the second time in two days that Southland first responders swung into action to save a child. Late Monday night … a sheriff’s deputy spotted a vehicle being driven erratically on Lakewood Boulevard in Lakewood, pulled it over and resuscitated one of the passengers — a 9-month old boy who had stopped breathing.

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