'My baby Hugh was blue and lifeless' when saved by hero passer-by, says thankful mum

Asumpta Sweeney says her little boy would not be alive today without the heroic actions of a passing student, who performed CPR on baby Hugh after he turned "totally lifeless".

In March 2017, Assumpta was driving her daughter to montessori when she heard a strange cry from her seven-week-old baby Hugh. She stopped her car at the side of Crumlin Road, Dublin, and to her horror realised he wasn’t breathing.

“My partner Jason took our baby from the car seat, his face was blue, wasn’t breathing and was totally lifeless,” Asumpta told the Today with Sean O’Rourke show.

“Jason was calling the ambulance so I took Hugh into my arms. I shouted for help, I started shouting ‘my baby’. I saw a man across the road and he just came straight over and took Hugh from me. He crouched down, had him in his lap and starting breathing into Hugh’s mouth and doing chest compressions.

“Hugh was lifeless and it seemed to take a while. I saw the colour return to my son and he began to cry."

Tarik was running late for college when he spotted the panicked mother and made the split decision to perform CPR.

In an amazing coincidence, he had completed a refresher course in first aid just a week before the incident, and the training clearly kicked in.

He said: “I gave him his first breath and nothing happened, but on the second I could see his eyes moving. After a while the ambulance came and he looked ok. Assumpta was crying but I just kept saying that he was ok. He was very small, his whole body fitted in my hands. I feel connected to Hugh. That picture is always in my mind.”

When the ambulance arrived at the scene they rushed baby Hugh to Crumlin Children’s Hospital where he was placed on life support for four days. He spent three weeks in hospital.

Asumpta says she believes her little son Hugh would not be alive today without Tariq's intervention.

Tariq is now a finalist in the Everyday Hero category of the People of the Year, organised by the Rehab Group and broadcast live on RTÉ One on March 3. Now in its 43rd year, the awards recognise people who have done extraordinary things. Organised by the Rehab Group, it will broadcasted live on RTÉ One at 9.50pm and presented by Gráinne Seoige and Aidan Power.

Tariq and Hugh.