Caitlin Nelson, 20, lost her hero police officer father on 9/11 and now she is also gone, after participating in a pancake eating contest last week. She choked on a pancake and despite being taken to hospital passed away Sunday. A friend of the family said Caitlin's organs will be donated, as she requested.

As reported by the New York Post, a spokesman for the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association said Caitlin was like her father, right to the end. Robert Egbert said she was always giving of herself and the fact she has donated her organs goes to prove it.

According to Egbert, she always said she was an organ donor, saying her father gave everything on 9/11. James Nelson reportedly worked for the Port Authority Police Department and was helping people evacuate from the 27th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, when the building collapsed.

Pancake eating contest proved fatal for the student

Caitlin was a student of the Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She choked while participating in the pancake eating contest at the “Greek Life” dinner at the school. As reported by People, Caitlin had eaten “several pancakes” when she collapsed and started shaking. Fairfield Police Department said when officers arrived on the scene she was not breathing and was unresponsive.

Reportedly the sorority sister did have allergies, but it has not yet been confirmed by medical staff if this was a contributing factor.

The Fairfield Police Chief said their officers arrived on the scene quickly. Gary MacNamara told People they realized the situation right away and desperately tried to clear her airway. However, it was not easy to clear the blockage and reportedly the lack of oxygen caused severe damage.

While she was immediately taken to hospital, the New Jersey student passed away on Sunday.

A friend of the family said they are in unimaginable grief and that it is an incredible shock. When her father died, Caitlin was reportedly five years old. A source from the Port Authority said he had worked with James Nelson at the bus terminal.

The unnamed source went on to tell a story about Caitlin. She was reportedly given an assignment about 9/11 and her teacher randomly assigned partners for the students to work with on the assignment. It turned out her partner was a boy whose father also worked on that day and died. The source said the “9/11 theme” is continuing to run through their lives to this day. Reportedly 37 of the Port Authority police officers died on 9/11.

Helping people to the end

Due to Caitlin’s experience with tragedy, she regularly volunteered to work with children and she and her sister Anne reportedly helped at the Resiliency Center.

The center still today helps survivors of the tragic Sandy Hook school massacre. The New York Post quoted Caitlin as saying it’s all about paying forward. The student also worked with America’s Camp, an organization set up to help children of 9/11 victims. Caitlin is survived by her mother, Roseanne, and an older sister, Anne.
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