Girl, 6, saves choking classmate

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SACRAMENTO, May 4 (UPI) -- A 6-year-old California girl who rescued a classmate who was choking on a piece of apple said she learned the Heimlich maneuver from watching television.

Elspeth Mar, a student at Caroline Wenzel Elementary School in Sacramento, performed the Heimlich on friend Aniyah Rigmaiden in the cafeteria of the school Thursday and the girls did not inform teachers until they had finished their lunch, The Sacramento Bee reported Friday.

Mar and Anthony Roy Jr., a classmate who first noticed Rigmaiden choking, were honored in a school ceremony declaring them "Heroes of the Day."

Principal Judy Montgomery said she was impressed with Mar's actions.

"It was so matter-of-fact," she said. "She got up, got the apple out of the little girl's throat and then just sat back down. That is how it should be.

"But I was blown away at how a first-grader could handle something like that so seamlessly. Usually, I would expect them to yell, 'Hey, help! Someone's choking,'" Montgomery said.

Mar said she learned how to perform the Heimlich from Disney channel series "A.N.T. Farm."