A Massachusetts State Police trooper is being lauded for his efforts in delivering a baby on the side of the highway Saturday night.
Police and Fire/EMS responded after a woman called dispatchers saying she was in labor on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Framingham shortly before 8 p.m.
Trooper Paul Copponi was the first to arrive on the scene and found the woman in the driver's seat breathing heavily with the car still in drive.
As the trooper reached inside the vehicle and placed it in park, the woman said 'Help me."
Copponi spoke to the woman and attempted to calm her, reassuring her that she was safe and that an ambulance was on the way. At this point, the baby began to crown.
"I was just trying to get her to slow down her breathing, talking to her and she said 'the baby's coming,' and sure enough, the baby came out," Copponi said at a press conference Sunday. "So we just had to hold on, hold the baby in place and make sure she stayed calm and everybody was OK."
Copponi said that as soon as the paramedics got there, they took control, got the baby and cut the cord. They put the baby in the ambulance and cleaned her up and did the same with the mother, who was placed on a stretcher and into an awaiting ambulance.
Her three children -- who were in the backseat -- were also transported to Metro West Framingham Hospital.
Paul Peluso | Editor
Paul Peluso is the Managing Editor of OFFICER Magazine and has been with the Officer Media Group since 2006. He began as an Associate Editor, writing and editing content for Officer.com. Previously, Paul worked as a reporter for several newspapers in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD.
