Must have been a lot of bread crumbs in that crab cake to get lodged in his throat. Or, I guess huge amounts. A crab cake done correctly (via the Eastern Shore) is more flaky than tough.
If it was one of those crabcakes I had in Baltimore a few years ago this would never have happened!
No doubt....good crab cakes have little grain involved...crumbs, flour, meal etc
What we used to call Deviled Crab is what some now think Crab Cake