Newnan Chick-fil-A drive-thru employee saves choking girl's life

NEWNAN, Ga. - A mom's Chick-fil-A craving and a Georgia fast food worker's quick thinking helped save the life of a little girl this week.

Liliana Leah and her daughter Theia were supposed to go to Walmart on Monday, but before their shopping trip, they decided to grab lunch at the Truett's Chick-fil-A in Newnan. That decision may have been life-changing.

Soon after they arrived at the restaurant Leah says her daughter started making a choking noise.

"I ran so fast to get her out of her car seat, she was crying and couldn’t breathe, pointing to her mouth," Leah wrote on Instagram. I have learned before to help in this situation, but I froze and panic sets in, so I screamed for help."

Mia Velez was working the drive-thru that day and noticed the mother's panic. She "dropped everything and ran" to Theia.

After using the Heimlich maneuver on the little girl, Velez was able to dislodge the coin stuck in Theia's throat, saving her life.

"I can’t thank Mia enough for saving Theia," Leah wrote. "She was at the right place today and didn’t hesitate for even a second."

Now the Newnan mom is forever thankful that she wanted to get some waffle fries.

"God took my wheel to make that turn to CFA, He knew I needed to be there," she wrote. "It’ll take me longer to find help, or even to pull over if I didn’t make that turn. It was like less than a couple of minutes but felt like forever."

(Truett’s Chick-fil-A - Newnan)

The Chick-fil-A praised Velez on Facebook, saying that they were so proud of her.

"You were in the right place at the right time, and made the choice to spring into action, which made all the difference for this family," a spokesperson for the restaurant wrote. 

As for little Theia, all she wanted after her terrifying ordeal was an ice cream, which the restaurant gave her for free.