Above: A woman gave birth to a baby girl on the side of a Chula Vista freeway early Tuesday morning after the car they were in was forced to pull over, August 11, 2021.
A woman gave birth in an overheated car on the shoulder of northbound Interstate 805 Wednesday. The husband, driving to Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista with his wife and baby when their sedan’s engine began smoking from over-heating.
The hospital was only a few minutes away but due to safety concerns for both mother and child, they needed immediate medical attention as soon as possible – so he pulled into the nearest parking lot off North I-805 near East Palomar Street (5 miles) where she delivered her newborn daughter before paramedics arrived at 12:30 p.m., according to fire department spokesperson Jerry Fernandez, just 1.5 miles from the hospital.
The 911 call was routed to the CVFD, which responded at 5:45 a.m., with an engine and medic ambulance. They arrived only two minutes before the baby did; Josh Sanders of CCVFD told CNS that their goal is to transport a woman in labor to a sterile environment with doctors but sometimes you just show up and hey, it’s happening!
After delivery, the mother and baby were then taken to the hospital, where Sanders reports they’re doing “just fine.”
