A 15-year-old McDonald's worker has been praised for her heroism after her quick thinking saved the life of a customer who began choking on a chicken nugget.
Employee of the fast food giant Sydney Raley was working a shift on Saturday afternoon at an outlet near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She said she was working a routine shift handing customers their food orders at a drive-thru when the unexpected happened.
She said that after giving one customer their food she moved back out of the window to let the person know the rest of their order was on its way.
But it was at that moment she said she noticed the woman was 'choking on a chicken nugget.'
She told CNN : "She was coughing like crazy, and I noticed she was gagging Her daughter was in the passenger seat and she looked so freaked out. I immediately knew 'Oh, no, she's choking."
Sydney said she told her manager and the woman's daughter to call the emergency services on 911 before she immediately jumped through the window in a bid to help the woman.
She told the outlet she had taken a Red Cross babysitter course when she was aged 11, where she had learned the Heimlich manoeuvre, all training that she said 'immediately kicked in.'
After the manoeuvre didn't work the first few times she called on another person to help.
She said: '"We worked together and were able to successfully dislodge the food from her throat."
The nugget was dislodged and the woman was able to breathe again before officers arrived on the scene and offered a reward to the heroic staffer.
She said: "They said, 'Congratulations you're a lifesaver; you're a hero.'"
Police were said to have given her $100 from a fund they use for people who do good work in the community.
Restaurant owner and operator Paul Ostergaard told the outlet he was 'incredibly proud' of Sydney's 'quick and heroic actions.'
He said: "Sydney truly personifies what it is to be a hero and we are incredibly lucky to have her as a highly-valued crew member at our Eden Prairie restaurant location.
"We are excited to see all of the well-deserved recognition she has received from the community and will continue to celebrate her courageous efforts of literally jumping out of the drive-thru window to provide aid to a customer in need."
