FIRST ON WWAY: Wrightsboro Elementary School student saves friend on bus from choking

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Paul Lawson looks like your normal kid.

He plays with his toy helicopter and his new fidget spinner whenever he gets the chance, but he isn’t just your average kid. He’s a hero.

“I saw him choking and then I called out for help,” Lawson said.

Lawson saved a boy sitting next to him on the school bus who was choking on a piece of candy when they were about to head home from Wrightsboro Elementary School. Lawson noticed Ethan Wilson, who was sitting next to him, couldn’t breathe last week.

“I saw his eyes beet red with lines through it, and I heard him choking like that,” Lawson said.

Lawson did not hesitate and screamed for his bus driver. Within a matter of seconds, the bus driver was able to bring the boy inside the school, and he got medical attention.

Wilson said it was a very scary moment.

“I was mad and sad,” Wilson said. “I was sad ’cause I didn’t like it, and I was mad because I didn’t want to choke.”

But he is just thankful Lawson could save him.

“Thank you, Paul,” Wilson said, as the two boys talked today about what happened.

Lawson’s family was proud of their hero.

“Never underestimate a child because they can do things that will shock you,” Paula Lawson, Paul’s grandmother, said.

The boys continue to take the bus together and plan to play together when summer vacation starts.