It’s not often that a politician gets to save a constituent’s life, but this is exactly what happened on Sunday in New Hampshire, when Governor Chris Sununu saved a man who was choking on a lobster roll in an eating competition.
The incident took place at the Hampton Beach Lobster Roll Eating Competition. The Governor displayed quick thinking and a readiness to act when he saved the man. The incident occurred at a seafood festival where contestants were eagerly consuming lobster rolls. Christian Moreno, one of the participants, found himself in distress when a piece of the roll obstructed his airway. At first, no one realized what was happening as Moreno tried to cough up the chunk of lobster roll on his own. Finally, it was the governor, who was present at the event, who recognized the signs of choking and sprang into action.
He performed the Heimlich maneuver, a life-saving technique that dislodges food from a person’s windpipe, thereby preventing asphyxiation. The governor’s intervention was timely and effective, allowing Moreno to recover and, astonishingly, continue the competition, consuming an additional seven lobster rolls. Clearly Moreno is a fearless and undaunted eating competitor. “After the lobster roll was dislodged Christian went right back to the contest, which I couldn’t believe,” Sununu added. “He ate another seven lobster rolls after that!”
The Governor modestly downplayed his role: “In the commotion and excitement of the contest, I was the first to notice that the gentleman at the far end of the row of contestants was choking. So, I moved forward and immediately started giving him the Heimlich,” Sununu said.
