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Officer pulls over car, delivers passenger's baby

An officer pulls over a car for speeding and blowing through red lights, realizes the pregnant female passenger is in the throes of labor, and helps her deliver the child – and all in five minutes. 

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AP/Andres Kudacki
An officer – in just five minutes – pulled over a car and delivered the passenger's baby. In this file photo, a grandma holds her 2 month year-old grandchild.
  • By Staff Associated Press

| Westland, Mich.

Authorities say a traffic stop turned into an impromptu baby delivery for one Michigan sheriff's deputy.

Wayne County sheriff's Sgt. Brian Glatfelter was nearing the end of his shift Saturday night when he spotted a speeding vehicle in the Detroit suburb of Westland, sheriff's spokeswoman Paula Bridges said.

Glatfelter pulled the vehicle over at 11:40 p.m. to cite the driver for speeding and going through several red lights "when he discovered the passenger inside was a woman in the last stages of labor," Bridges said in an email. "The driver was frantically trying to get his wife to Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn so she could deliver there."

The sergeant called in for emergency medical services but the delivery couldn't wait, Bridges said.

"With the assistance of a very anxious dad, Sgt. Glatfelter delivered the bouncing baby girl in the front seat of the vehicle — all within 5 minutes of the stop!" the spokeswoman wrote.

An EMS unit arrived minutes later, and the couple and baby were transported to the hospital, where mother and daughter were doing well, Bridges said.

"Our personnel are trained to handle all sorts of situations but it's not every day they encounter a woman in heavy labor during a routine traffic stop," Sheriff Benny Napoleon said in a statement. He said the sergeant's "intervention and professional training helped this family bring their newborn into the world safely. We're glad he was there to assist and wish them all the best."

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