SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A pregnant Utah woman driving herself to the hospital gave birth to a healthy, nearly 10-pound baby boy on the side of an interstate highway, police said.
Devi Mariah Ostler’s labor started Saturday before she got in the car, but soon became overwhelming and she called 911, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jalaine Hawkes said.
On a recording of the call, Ostler is initially calm, telling the dispatcher that she’s on the freeway, but soon interrupts herself to say her water broke.
“I’m trying to get over into the other lane – I need to push!” she said. She told the dispatcher her name and described her car, then said: “The baby is coming!”
The 32-year-old expectant mother pulled over on the side of Interstate 15 as dispatcher Brittney Chugg talked her through the labor, telling her to lay her seat back, breathe and even hold the baby’s head so he wasn’t born too fast.