3rd grader caught on camera saving choking student: 'I was terrified'

MESA, Ariz. (WPVI) -- A third grader in Arizona is being called a hero after saving the life of his classmate.

Eight-year-old Thomas Conley jumped into action last month after noticing another boy choking on a grape.

"I was just doodling in my in my notebook, and then I just heard Isaiah crying, and it was just like, 'What's wrong?' And I realized he was choking," said Conley.

Surveillance video shows Conley performing the Heimlich maneuver on Isaiah Rodriguez in the cafeteria of the school in Mesa.

Little Isaiah then described what happened next.

"Like he saw me, like, standing over me like, and he just pulled me down and did the Heimlich. I was terrified. I went to get some water, hoping it wouldn't get stuck too," the boy recalled.

Thomas was able to get his friend breathing again.

He was later honored with a certificate for his actions by the Mesa Fire Department.