Rush hour took on a whole new meaning for one San Diego woman Thursday who went into labor on busy Interstate 8 in the middle of the morning commute.
Dispatchers said the mother began delivering her baby at around 7:35 a.m. on westbound I-8, near Waring Road. She was with her husband and their 5-year-old son in the car.
Medics rushed to the scene to help the woman during her roadside childbirth.
Lee Swanson, of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD), said by the time an emergency crew arrived to help the woman, she had already delivered her newborn -- a baby boy.
The family was helped through the process by a passerby who pulled over and assited the newborn's father in cutting the umbilican cord by listening to directions given by a 911 dispatcher over the phone.
California Highway Patrol Officer John Gray was the first official to arrive on scene. He spoke to NBC 7 Thursday afternoon and said it definitely wasn't a typical roadside stop for him.
"I go up and I open the door and I see a mother and a I see a baby," Gray said. "Mom just looks tired, the baby's eyes were open. And I looked at the Dad and said 'How is she?' and he corrects me and says, 'No, it's a he! It's a boy!' and I said 'Congratulations!'"
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The CHP officer said the mother and baby were taken to a local Kaiser Permanente hospital.
Gray praised the couple for keeping it together and pulling through a very difficult situation. He said the father "went on auto-pilot" and took care of his wife as she delivered the baby while also comforting his 5-year-old son and making sure he wasn't scared.
Gray said the 5-year-old boy was "all smiles" witnessing the birth of his sibling and was especially happy to see the firefighters who arrived at the scene to help shortly thereafter.
NBC 7 reached out to Kaiser Permanente. The family is doing well but after all of the excitement on I-8, they wanted to rest and enjoy this special time.
