STUDENT KILLED BY CHARITY PANCAKE

TWO

A PRETTY brunette student died after choking to death during a pancake-eating contest at university.

Caitlin Nelson, 20, was one of 10 girls taking part in the competition to raise funds for Sacred Heart University when a piece went down the wrong way and clogged her airway.

Two nursing students saw she was in difficulty and tried to save Caitlin, before they were quickly joined by police and paramedics at the event in Connecticut.

She was taken to hospital in nearby Bridgeport in a critical but stable condition and then transferred to Columbia University Medical Center in New York, where she later died.

The social work student fell to the floor and started shaking uncontrollably after eating four or five pancakes at the fundraiser.

Police officer Robert Kalamaras, 42, who was the first on the scene and tried to save her life, said: “We made several attempts to clear her airway. It’s difficult, it’s intense and it’s tragic for the family, and of course for the entire Sacred Heart community.

“It’s difficult to face the parent and tell them what happened.”

This is the second tragedy to hit the family – Caitlin’s cop dad James died trying to save people from the World Trade Center buildings in New York after they were struck by two hijacked planes on September 11, 2001.

Officer Kalamaras added: “It’s a tragic event that started out as something fun.