Ohio trooper saves infant's life with CPR during traffic stop

Ohio State Trooper Matthew Stoffer was called to stop a speedy driver last month; a routine traffic stop he's made probably hundreds of times in his 10 years of service.

But what he wasn't prepared for: to see a motionless, unresponsive 1-year-old in the back of the car.

Ready or not, he sprung into action.

"Upon seeing Trooper Stoffer's marked vehicle, the driver pulled onto the berm on his own and yelled to the trooper that his daughter was unresponsive," the Ohio State Highway Patrol explained in a Facebook post. "He and his wife were trying to get to a hospital."

Stoffer called 911, removed the baby from the vehicle and performed CPR. She was still motionless, but soon began breathing on her own.

Minutes later, Mifflin Township EMS arrived and transported the girl to Mansfield Med-Central Hospital, where she was flown to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus; she is now in stable condition.

The trooper was praised by thousands of people for his calm, cool and collected attitude.

Patrol spokesman Sgt. Vincent Shirey told CBS News he wasn't surprised at the officer's calm demeanor, as troopers go through 24 intense weeks of care and military training.

"We put these cadets -- soon-to-be troopers -- in very stressful situations," he said.

While officers are regularly certified in CPR, performing CPR on a 1-year-old can be quite difficult.

"I don't want to speak for him, but if it was me, I would be [nervous]," Shirey said. "It was great to see him maintain his composure."

The heroic trooper's action was caught on his patrol car's dash cam and a two-minute video was shared on Facebook Wednesday.

"I hope that people can see that law enforcement officers are very dependable in high stress situations," Shirey said, referring to the video that has been viewed nearly 760,000 times. "There can be negative play on law enforcement. But look at the positive and what good we do -- I want people to know that they can count on law enforcement 99 percent to do the right thing."