A rookie New Jersey State Trooper is credited with saving the life of an 8-month-old girl in her Hunterdon County home.

Trooper Benjamin Hockin of the Kingswood Station was the first to arrive at an Alexandria Township home just before 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, State Police said. He used an automated external defibrillator from the back of his patrol vehicle on Lila Wolfram, who was not breathing and not responding to CPR being administrated by a family doctor.

The trooper, who graduated the 155th New Jersey State Police Recruit Class this past February, applied one shock to the girl's body and then performed CPR until Milford-Holland EMS arrived, State Police said. The EMS applied a second AED shock and took the girl to Hunterdon County Medical Center in Flemington.

Lila was later transferred to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she is expected to make a full recovery, State Police said.

Hockin has only been a State Police officer for as long as Lila has been alive — as she was born in February.

“Trooper Hockin’s quick and decisive actions are a credit to him and the New Jersey State Police,” Colonel Rick Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said. “There is nothing more rewarding or meaningful than to save a life. This is a memorable start to a bright and promising career."

Paramedics and doctors at Hunterdon Medical credit Hockin for keeping Lila alive until she could get more advanced care.

"It's great when we see young, new troopers relying on their training to react like a veteran officer. We're pretty proud of him," State Police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Flynn said.

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