It was a special delivery — from the highway.
A second-time mother gave birth to a baby boy on the New Jersey Turnpike last week with the help of her husband, a state trooper and a cellphone charger.
Kristen Fast went into labor four days early on July 2 but before the expectant parents could make it to the hospital, their baby boy was born on the side of the highway in Secaucus, ABC7 reported.
“The doula said, ‘pull over, hang up, call 911.’ So we did that. We called 911. The operator started walking him through what to do,” Kristen told the outlet.
“Next thing I know, I get in the back seat, and we’re making sure she’s comfortable, and I look down, and that baby is ready to go,” Kristen’s husband Alex Fast said.
New Jersey State Trooper Freddie Guacamaya responded to the 911 call and with the help of an iPhone charging cord, Kristen delivered her healthy baby boy.
“I said, ‘Are you the EMT?’ And he didn’t answer. So I said, ‘You are not an EMT. I’m in danger.’ But he was fine, he was being very calm,” Kristen recalled of Guacamaya.
The frantic parents were advised to clamp the umbilical cord right away with string but the only thing the couple had on hand was a phone charger.
“So I panicked and just looked in the front and we just had an iPhone cable,” Alex said. “So we just clamped the cord with an iPhone cable.”
“The EMTs came and they said, ‘What is this?,’” Kristen recalled.
With the help of three officers who also arrived on scene, Kristen, Alex and their newborn son Archer were transported to Hackensack University Medical Center.
“They were amazing. They drove our car to the hospital for us, which was so nice. They paid for our valet,” the elated parents said of the responding officers.
Baby Archer’s exact birthplace was recorded accurately as the New Jersey Turnpike I-95, mile marker 113.
“Archer’s healthy. He’s thriving. He’s a Jersey boy through and through,” Kristen said.
“I don’t think you get more Jersey than being born on the New Jersey Turnpike.”
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