“My baby’s choking”: Hero cop details dramatic highway rescue

A New York City detective who rescued a choking baby on a busy highway has recalled the tense moments that unfolded – saying he is grateful “she’s gonna be here for Christmas”.

Detective First Grade Michael Greaney, 40, was on his way to work at about 8:45am on Wednesday when he noticed a BMW speeding along the shoulder of the Bronx River Parkway.

Speaking to The Post on Friday, Greaney said he followed the vehicle and activated his lights.

“I followed the vehicle, turned my lights on,” he said. “[The dad] rolled down his window and yelled, ‘My baby’s choking!’”

Greaney, a father of two young children, immediately removed the eight-month-old girl from her car seat, turned her over and struck her back repeatedly until the obstruction cleared.

“I didn’t see anything or feel anything come out, but she let out a cough, like she had the relief,” said Greaney, who works in the office of the Chief of Detectives.

“She let out a little cry, which obviously we know that if you’re talking or crying, you’re not choking. So that [was] a good sign,” he said.

Although he remained calm, Greaney said he understood the fear the child’s father must have been experiencing.

“[There are] definitely all sorts of emotion, panic, shock, terrified and everything,” he said.

“So I’m glad that I was able to relieve him of those emotions, and I’m happy that she’s gonna be here for Christmas.”

After the baby began breathing again, a nurse pulled over to assist.

“She said, ‘She’s all good. She’s breathing. You can give her back to dad,’” Greaney recalled.

“He just said, ‘Thank you,’ and I told him to go home and watch a YouTube video on how to do the Heimlich, so if this ever happens again, he can clear it himself,” he said.

“I set her back into the car seat, and I took off,” Greaney said. He later learned that footage of the rescue had gone viral.

“I told a couple people. I didn’t think it was gonna go like this, no way,” he said.

Greaney later spoke with the baby’s father, who told him the girl was doing well.

“I feel good … that I saved her,” he said, adding that the public attention was unusual, not the act itself.

“There’s cops doing stuff like this every day that don’t get caught on video,” Greaney added. “It’s nice to have one story get told, but it’s not a rarity.

“But [it’s] ultimately a happy day,” he said.

Images: TikTok