A healthy baby girl made an unexpected roadside arrival Friday afternoon after her family got stuck in heavy traffic on the way to the hospital, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
The unexpected delivery began at approximately 4:40 p.m., when crews received a report of a family en route to a hospital to deliver their baby, the department announced Saturday.
Fire officials said due to heavy traffic near Crossover Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the family pulled over and called 911.
SFFD Paramedic Engine 14 and AMR Unit 110, a 911 provider for San Francisco, were dispatched to the scene. AMR Unit 110 arrived first, but traffic conditions forced the crew to park two blocks away and run to reach the patient.
Parents Karollyn and Nate said on Sunday a doula sitting in traffic with them helped coach Karollyn through the process while waiting for paramedics.
Personnel arrived just in time to assist with the delivery of the baby girl. Engine 14 crews arrived shortly afterward to provide care for both the mother and the newborn.
Both the mother and child were later transported to a local hospital and reported to be in good condition, the department stated.
“We want to congratulate the family and welcome this new child to the world,” the SFFD said in a statement. “Her arrival is a true testament to the dedication, compassion and teamwork of our first responders.”
On Sunday, Karollyn and Nate revealed the baby’s name is Cielle Ray. They said Karollyn is “doing great,” and she is in the recovery process.
“Mom is doing great, recovering well and we’re leaving later tonight,” the family wrote. “We always joked around about giving birth in the car, never thought it would happen to us. We took a route that I take every morning to work without issues, and just so happens that the day with the worst traffic is the last day we needed it. But we were so fortunate to have the support that we did, especially some medical professionals that were sitting in the same traffic. Most notably a doula that helped coach Karollyn through the process until the paramedics arrived.
