Ashley May

USA TODAY

A Wisconsin teenager’s training and quick thinking saved a student’s life Wednesday.

During lunch at Central High School in La Crosse, freshman Ian Brown noticed his classmate Will Olsen choking.

In video footage shared on the school’s Facebook page, Olsen is seen coughing and then holding his stomach. One student jumps up and backs away from the table. Some of the students sitting with him thought Olsen was joking and continued eating. When Olsen puts his hands behind his head, Brown gets up from the table, walks over to Olsen and performs the Heimlich maneuver. The third try dislodges the food from Olsen’s throat.

Brown, who is a Police Explorer with the La Crosse Police, then walked Olsen to the school nurse's office, according to a La Crosse Police press release. Brown said he reacted when he saw the color change in Olsen's face and neck, the release says.

"I could've been dead," Olson told WISN 12 NEWS. "I could be dead now. I'm thankful. I can't say thank you enough for what he did. There's so many words that can explain it."

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