Heroine, 12, Calmly Saves a Choking 4-Year-Old

As 12-year-old heroines go, Adrienne Costanzo is remarkably serene and unassuming.

The Fleming Junior High School seventh-grade student, who has never taken an emergency training course in her life, is credited with using the Heimlich maneuver to save the life of her 4-year-old friend, Chelsea Segal, when grown-ups around her failed to notice the child choking.

The incident took place last Saturday at a barbecue at Chelsea’s home in San Pedro.

About 10 adults in the room were gathered around a buffet table, while Chelsea, Adrienne and other children sat on a sofa eating, Adrienne said. Chelsea took a big bite of her London broil and suddenly, Adrienne saw something was wrong.

Face Was Blue

“(Chelsea) looked at me and put her hands in the air . . . like she was trying to say something,” Adrienne said. “She started running to her mom. I could see from the back that her face was all blue. Then I knew.”

As Chelsea struggled to reach her mother a few feet away, Adrienne calmly put down her plate, grabbed the child from behind and quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver.

Chelsea’s mother, Robin Segal, recalled: “It was a room full of people but no one noticed. . . . My back was turned and (Chelsea) was attempting to come to me, but she couldn’t talk.”

Segal estimated that she turned around less than 10 seconds after the episode began.

“I saw the blue face and Adrienne was around her and the meat flew out about four feet,” Segal said. “Without question, she saved her life.”

Adrienne was placid in describing the incident.

“I just got up and did it, and sat back down and started eating,” she said. “I think maybe anybody could have done it if they saw her.”

The two girls, who have known each other since 10 weeks after Chelsea’s birth, are like sisters, Nancy Costanzo said.

Costanzo said that Adrienne has never had any special training but has watched a lot of television, where she has routinely seen procedures like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation performed.

Even more important, Adrienne has been on the receiving end of the Heimlich maneuver at least twice, most recently last year, when her mother used it to dislodge a piece of ice at a baseball game.

So, when Chelsea was choking, “I knew what to do,” Adrienne said.

Family Doctor

Julius Frank, a physician who is Chelsea’s grandfather, attended the party but was outside when the incident took place. He was summoned indoors only seconds later.

“By the time I came in, she had already done the maneuver,” Frank said. He immediately examined Chelsea, who appeared to be recovering, he said.

“This is like pulling someone out of a pool . . . it was beyond the call of duty,” Frank said. “I think it was spectacular.”