Austin Chick-fil-A Employee Saves Choking Customer

An Austin, Texas, Chick-fil-A employee is earning praise for stepping in to save a choking customer by applying the Heimlich maneuver just in time.

Chick-fil-A employee Hunter Harris is being hailed as a hero after video of his heroic deed went viral on Facebook.

The dramatic video shows an elderly male customer suddenly standing up as if in distress. A female customer rushes over and tries to help by applying the famed lifesaving technique, but it is clear it is not working. Soon, Hunter Harris rushes in to save the day.

After he performed his task, Hunter went right back to work, and the customer finished his meal.

“It was a very intense situation and I was relieved once it happened,” Harris said in the statement according to CNN. “I knew there was nothing to be said between me and him. I did what I needed to do, and he was OK, and I just came back and continued my work.”

Harris is taking his newfound fame in stride. After all, this is actually the second time he has used the Heimlich to save a choking customer, reports say.

But his actions earned him praise from his co-workers.

“I think he’s a hero,” co-worker Anita Duran said. “When he went back to the kitchen area, I said, ‘Hunter you are a hero. To me, you are a hero because you just saved his life.'”

Jamie Harris, Hunter’s father and the owner of the restaurant, also thinks his son is a hero.

“I’m most proud that he did not hesitate and that he jumped in,” Mr. Harris said. “A man of action so to speak, and had the confidence to help the guy out.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.