A Hernando County deputy is being called a hero after he was in the right place at the right time and ended up saving a boy's life.

Deputy Michael Valenti and eighth-grader Christopher Gregory now have a bond that won't fade away anytime soon, as Valenti saved Christopher's life.

"To save a child's life, it feels really good," Valenti said. "I slept good that night."

Valenti is the school resource officer at Fox Chapel Middle School in Spring Hill. He has been on the job for a while and knows how to handle a serious situation.

During lunch on Tuesday, Christopher started choking on a piece of food. He went straight to Valenti, who was close by talking with another group of students.

"His face appeared to be turning purple and he was making a motion that he was choking," Valenti said. "Right at that time I knew he couldn't breathe."

"Felt like I was going to die," Christopher said.

Valenti is no stranger to saving lives, but he had never done the Heimlich maneuver before in a real situation. He tried it and it worked.

"Once I did that about four thrusts, a piece of food came out," Valenti said.

After that, Christopher started breathing normally.  The school nurse took him to the clinic for further observation and to notify his parents as to what had happened.

Christopher said he's grateful to Valenti for his quick thinking.

"He's a great deputy, and if anybody chokes, he should be there," Christopher said.