Another ballpark tragedy was thankfully avoided at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. last week. Emmanuel Marlow, 49, who works as a vendor at Nationals Park and other stadiums in the district, was making his normal rounds Thursday afternoon when he noticed a commotion in one of his sections. A young boy had begun choking on his food and those around him were panicking. When Marlow came upon the scene and saw that no one else had taken charge, he immediately abandoned his vending duties and began performing the Heimlich maneuver. On his third attempt, Marlow dislodged a piece of chicken from the child's throat. "I guess they never had experienced a first-aid situation," said Marlow, who had once worked a game at FedEx Field when a patron had a mild stroke. "[The boy] was actually going to a new color. I knew I needed to jump in and do it. There was no time for hesi­ta­tion. It had to be done right then and there." After a quick examination at the stadium, the boy was deemed to be OK. His grateful mother went up to Marlow and spent 10 minutes hugging him, crying and thanking him for saving her son's life.