Middle schooler saves 2 lives on same day

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (Gray News) - An 11-year-old boy from Oklahoma is credited with taking life-saving actions to help both a choking classmate and a woman escaping a house fire on the same day.

Davyon Johnson, 11, performed the Heimlich maneuver Dec. 9 on a classmate at Muskogee Public Schools’ 6th and 7th Grade Academy. The student he saved had been choking on the cap of a water bottle, according to the Muskogee Phoenix.

Later that same day, Davyon spotted a house fire and ran to help a woman using a walker to escape.

“I thought, ‘Oh, she’s not moving fast enough.’ So, I ran across the street and helped her to her truck,” Davyon told KOTV.

Officials with the school district, Muskogee Police Department and Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office recognized Davyon for his heroic actions at a Dec. 14 school board meeting. He was named both an honorary police officer and an honorary deputy.

“I felt good, excited,” Davyon told the Phoenix about his honors.

Principal Latricia Dawkins called Davyon a “dual hero” and a “kind soul.” She said the recognition couldn’t have happened to a better person.

“He has always indicated that he wants to be an EMT [emergency medical technician]. So, he got to put that desire into action,” she told the Phoenix.

Davyon says he learned how to do the Heimlich maneuver on YouTube and encourages others to learn it as well.

“Just in case you’re in the situation I was in, you can know what to do,” he told the Phoenix.

LaToya Johnson, Davyon’s mom, told the Phoenix she’s proud of her son but not surprised he did what he did. She says her brother, Davyon’s uncle, is an EMT.