A San Diego woman gave birth in her car after the vehicle crashed on the way to the hospital Monday.
Ying Shi and her husband Hongwei Zhang welcomed their daughter, Anna, in a surprising way.
San Diego Fire-Rescue crews and San Diego police were called to the Genesee off-ramp along northbound Interstate 5 just before 3 a.m.
A driver took a wide turn exiting I-5 and crashed into a cement barrier. The collision disabled the vehicle.
Inside the car, was a woman in labor.
Dayna Dumont, a nurse, helped the woman to deliver the baby inside the vehicle.
Dumont told NBC 7, she was on her way home from work when she noticed the baby's father trying to flag her down on Genesee Avenue. She said she was concerned for her safety at first, but then realized the couple had been in a crash.
Local
When Zhang shouted that the baby was here, that's when Dumont jumped into action.
"I was trying to kind of lean in and he took the side of the door and ripped it off and opened it up for me," Dumont said. "And I looked at her and said 'Are you ok?' And she sat there calmly and said 'Yes but I think the baby's here.' And so we pulled her sweatpants down and there was the baby kind of sitting in her pants."
Dumont said she works as a nurse in an Emergency Room.
She was a bit panicked when she first saw the baby because she doesn't do deliveries. But her training kicked in and she was able to keep the mom and baby comfortable until paramedics arrived.
"[The paramedics] got their stuff to clamp the umbilical cord and cut it and clamped it on. I just held onto the baby until we could get it out," Dumont said. "And she started crying when she got out from between her mom's legs."
Hours later, while recovering at Scripps La Jolla Hospital Shi and her husband issued a statement thanking those who stopped to help them.
"We thought we were all alone," the couple said, thanking two strangers who stopped on the road to check on them following the collision.
They also thanked the emergency medical staff and hospital staff who cared for their newborn.
Here is their statement in full:
First of all, as Christians we want to thank God for keeping us safe through all of this. Next, we want to thank all of the people who gave us help. When this happened, we thought we were all alone. But very quickly, a woman stopped to help us and called 911. Then a man stopped to assist. They were both complete strangers but they stopped to help us anyway. We are grateful to all of the paramedics who took good care of us and the baby. We are so very grateful to everyone who came to our aid and kept us safe. We are also thankful for all of the doctors, nurses, midwives and staff members at Scripps who have provided excellent care to us. Our new daughter, Anna, is doing wonderful thanks to all of them.
