ESPN’s Peter Burns recalls harrowing story of how a Missouri football fan saved his life

ESPN personality Peter Burns became teary-eyed during his show Monday when he recalled the moment a Missouri football fan stepped in to save his life after he began choking during dinner over the weekend. 

Burns, who joined the SEC Network in 2014, took a moment during the broadcast to thank a heroic bystander who jumped in to help when he began to experience a "medical incident" while enjoying dinner with coworkers in Columbia, Missouri, on Friday ahead of Saturday’s game between Boston College and Missouri. 

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook jumps over Boston College cornerback Amari Jackson, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Columbia, Missouri. Brady scored on the play. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

Burns said the group was talking and eating when, during the excitement of it all, a piece of steak became lodged in his throat. 

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"Immediately, I knew I was choking. And it was not just ‘OK, I don’t feel well,’" he said Monday."

He said two people, including the owner of the restaurant, attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver, but they were both unsuccessful. 

"All of a sudden, we’re about a minute and a half into this and I see the world kind of just collapsing on me and I hear some lady say ‘Hey, this guy’s a nurse.’ So I run over to this guy who’s actually a certified nurse." 

Peter Burns on set during the SEC Baseball Tournament game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Texas A&M Aggies on May 27, 2023, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Again, it didn’t work. 

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"It’s at that moment, man, that I realized I don’t know if I’m going to live. And at that point it was about a minute and 45 [seconds], maybe two minutes into this that I start getting really blurry-eyed and start blacking out. And I’m sitting there thinking like, ‘Man, if this guy’s a nurse and he can’t do it, what happens?’ 

That’s when a man named Jack Foster, who was enjoying dinner with his family, intervened and he was finally able to dislodge the piece of food. 

"You literally have this moment where your life flashes in front of your eyes, and you start thinking about family and my kids and how lucky you are in life," an emotional Burns recalled. 

Burns said Jack Foster was the fourth person that tried to help. (@PeterBurnsESPN / X)

"I want to thank Jack Foster for saving my life over on Friday." 

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Burns said Foster was a youth sports coach and had just gone through CPR training. 

"The lesson is taking every moment that you have and being positive and loving. You don’t know when something like that’s going to happen," he continued. 

Burns walked away from the experience with a new outlook on life, and four fractured ribs. 

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