TSA Agent Helps Save Woman Who Choked On Doughnut At JFK Airport

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One woman is likely going to say "no thanks" if offered a free doughnut today.

Earlier this week, a Transportation Security Administration officer working at a checkpoint in Terminal 1 at JFK Airport  noticed a commotion in the middle of the checkpoint line.

When he approached to find out what was going on, he saw that a woman was choking. The officer stepped in and attempted to dislodge the item from the woman's throat using the Heimlich maneuver, but it didn't work, according to the TSA.

The woman's husband told the officer that his wife had been eating a doughnut which got stuck in her throat.

Seconds later, the woman stopped breathing and went limp.

The TSA officer lowered the woman to the floor and began to perform CPR.

"The woman started to turn blue. She had no pulse," said TSA Supervisory Behavior Detection Officer Glenn Davis. Davis is also a 13-year veteran volunteer firefighter with the Manorville Fire Department on Long Island.

Davis has worked with the TSA since 2005.

"We tried CPR. I started with chest compressions and I instructed her husband to pinch her nose and breathe into her mouth," Davis said.

Another TSA officer called 911 and contacted the Port Authority Police.

"We worked on her for about five minutes. Finally she started to cough," said Davis.

As the woman began to breathe again, Davis watched her and she began to breathe on her own. The color also came back to her face, said Davis.

To see how alert she was, Davis asked her what type of doughnut she had been eating.

"As she was telling me about the doughnut, I began to laugh," said Davis.

The woman told Davis she was serious about the type of doughnut she was eating.

"I looked at her and told her I knew she was serious. I was just glad she was alive and could tell me about it."