Girl, 7, saved unconscious mother by slapping her with slice of pizza

When seven-year-old Rita Lawlor couldn't wake her mother up, she did what many have probably never thought of doing. She slapped her with a slice of pizza.

Now the little girl from Sarasota, Florida, has become the youngest person to receive an award from her local fire department for saving her mother, Virginia's life. Speaking at a gathering for the heroes, Rita said: 'I called 911, but first I slapped her with a piece of pizza.'



When this didn't work Rita realised her mother may be in serious trouble and rang for help. 'They did ask where I lived and my number, and I had to tell them what kind of house and I had to stand outside on the lawn and I saw the ambulance coming,' she said. When paramedics arrived they found Rita waiting for them outside her home while calmly speaking to a dispatcher on the phone.

'We walked up and said "are you the one who called 911?" And as we walked up she started telling us what was going on,' said firefighter and paramedic Chris Zengel. 'She couldn't wake up her mom. She kept trying to wake her up and just couldn't wake her up, so she called 911,' he added. Luckily Rita's mother was revived and is now doing fine, while Rita is delighted with her award and thank you goody bag.

With news video.