No mom dreams of delivering their baby on the side of the road. Visions of comfy birthing centers or a hospital room with the OBGYN that you’ve grown fond of are usually the images that come to mind. But not everyone has a delivery in their place of choice, and women that have birthed more than one child typically have faster labors.
People who have a lot of children often know their bodies and sense how quickly their babies might come, so they try to make it to the hospital before things get interesting. A couple in Florida who were expecting their sixth child attempted to head to the hospital before the baby arrived, but the baby had other plans.
Knowing he had to get his wife to the hospital quickly, Luis Lopez pulled over when he saw deputies on the side of the road and flagged them down for a police escort.
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), the sheriff’s deputy couldn’t provide the couple with a police escort. He called for an ambulance and put on some gloves instead. Good thing, too, because within a few minutes, he was going to be catching a baby and the entire thing was caught on video.
It’s the kind of thing that’s not only intense but incredibly heartwarming. The Hillsborough deputy, Dan “Red” Jones, was extremely calm and used a soothing voice to encourage the mom, but he didn’t skip out on making a joke when he finds out it was the couple’s sixth child.
“Six! Woo, y’all need a better hobby, OK,” Jones joked.
Turns out this isn’t the first baby the deputy has delivered on the job; it’s his third. He also used to work with cattle and helped deliver calves, so he knows plenty about birthing babies—at least more than the average person. Maybe he missed his calling. Either way, he was just who was needed in that moment.
Check out the dramatic video below:
We are pleased to report that Mom and baby are healthy and doing just fine.
