Blanchard Child Saves Classmate From Choking

An elementary school student from Blanchard is being hailed as a hero after he saved a classmate from choking.

It’s not uncommon to see Vollie Hines in the kitchen, stirring up a batch of his famous jellies. Or you might catch him outside shooting some hoops. But it’s a different move that is getting him some well-deserved attention. 

“I saw a video at school, and I went home and looked it up and learned the Heimlich maneuver,” Hines said.

He put what he learned to use this week during lunch at Blanchard Intermediate School. 

“I saw a friend just slumped over blood red and I heard him gasp for air,” Hines said.

Vollie said he didn’t hesitate and immediately started the Heimlich maneuver. It worked and he said he saw what his friend was choking on.

“A Dorito chip, it was lodged in his throat,” he said.

In the end, Vollie’s friend coughed up the Dorito chip and is okay, and his mother couldn’t be prouder.

“When I drop him off every day at school, I tell him to be kind and be a blessing, and that day he was,” said Khristen Hines said.