Baby born in passenger seat on side of Texas highway

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Texas said a couple were on the way to the hospital when they had to pull over on the side of the highway and deliver their baby.

The Houston Fire Department said crews responded about 1:50 a.m. Monday to a report of an obstetrical emergency on the southbound side of Interstate 45, between the Gulf Bank and Shepherd exits.

The crews arrived to find the woman had given birth in the passenger seat of the large white van.

"From what I could tell, the dad said, 'The baby is here,'" firefighter Joseph Leon told KTRK-TV. "We opened the door and the baby was in a towel."

Firefighters said the couple had been on their way to the hospital and pulled over when it became clear they wouldn't make it in time.

"We run into a lot of instances it's going to be our first time doing something," paramedic and firefighter Joshua Ream said. "You can do this job 25, 40 years and you'll run into something you haven't seen before."

They said the mother and new baby, a boy, were taken to a hospital and appeared to be doing well.

"Everyone was doing just fine when we dropped them off," Ream said. "The baby was alert, acting the way a one-hour-old child should."