PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A Pasco County postal worker is being hailed as a Halloween hero. It comes after she jumped into action to help a child choking on a piece of candy. 

What You Need To Know

  • Pasco County mail carrier Kandi Young is being praised for her actions in helping an 18-month-old who was choking on a piece of Halloween candy

  • Young was heading back to the office after finishing her route on Oct. 31 when she saw the child's mother, Morgan Osborne, standing in the road calling for help

  • Osborne said her three-year-old gave the candy to her younger child after a trunk-or-treat event

  • Young's supervisor tells us she's been nominated for the Postmaster General Heroes' Program for her actions

"Honestly, it's almost surreal, because I was not at all thinking. It just was pure drive. I wanted to make sure that baby was safe," said Kandi Young, a rural part-time flexible mail carrier.

Young was heading back to the Trinity Carrier Annex after finishing her mail route on Oct. 31. At the same time, Morgan Osborne, of Moon Lake, was leaving a trunk-or-treat event at her daughters' school. Neither woman knew they were about to find themselves in the middle of a real life Halloween horror.

"She wasn't breathing. She was actually foaming at the mouth," said Young.

"She 100% turned purple," said Osborne. "It was the scariest thing that ever happened to me."

Osborne's three-year-old daughter had given a WarHeads candy to her 18-month-old, and she was choking.

"I pulled her out of the car. I started screaming, freaking out. I've never freaked out this bad in my whole, entire life," Osborne said.

It happened at the intersection of Little Road and Plathe Road in New Port Richey. 

"All I see is a postal truck fly around the corner," Osborne said.

"She was yelling, and I believe she was screaming, 'My baby!'" said Young.

Young took the girl and performed the Heimlich maneuver.

"I threw that candy — I don't even know where it's at — and I just hugged the baby, and I was holding her to me," she said. "I could hear her gasping for breath when she finally was able to."

She said her quick thinking was part instinct — she's a mom to two girls as well — and part training.

"When my youngest was born in 2020, she had a disorder that caused her to be in the NICU for 13 days," Young said. "For babies to come out of the NICU, to 'graduate', as they say, you have to, as a parent, have CPR and Heimlich maneuver training."

After handing the baby over to Osborne, it was right back to work.

"I went back so I could get the mail in on time, since we're also in the middle of an election and we have ballots," said Young.

"We did get to text each other, and I did let her know how grateful I am for her. Honestly, she saved my child's life," Osborne said.

Osborne said her daughter was examined by paramedics after the incident and is doing well.

Young's supervisor, Allen Milletics, said he nominated her for the Postmaster General Heroes' Program. According to USPS's website, it honors postal workers who go above and beyond to help their communities.