Erik Wegner of Emerson, age six, saved the life of his friend, Brian Griggs, who fell head first into a box of packing popcorn while the two were playing in the backyard. When Griggs inhaled a piece of the packing material and it stuck in his throat. Luckily, Erik had learned the Heimlich maneuver from a nurse at Pascack Valley Hospital’s Family Day the year before. With arms wrapped around Brian, Wegner performed the maneuver and the material dislodged on the third attempt. In the meantime, from a window, Grigg’s mother saw what was happening. When she reached the boys, her son was breathing again.