Mother & Child Both Fine—

Baby Boy Born In Vehicle Alongside Church Hill Road

By Andrew Gorosko

An unidentified couple, who was traveling Wednesday evening from their home in Woodbury to a birthing center in Danbury for the birth of their second child, received their bundle of a joy a little sooner than planned.

The mother gave birth to the boy in the couple’s vehicle, which had been parked in a vacant lot alongside Church Hill Road.

Town police, Newtown Hook & Ladder volunteer firefighters, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps members, and Danbury Ambulance staffers responded to the lot opposite The Blue Colony Diner, where the baby was born.

After receiving a call about 6:18 pm that childbirth was underway in a Volkswagen Jetta station wagon parked in the lot on the eastern corner of Church Hill Road and Edmond Road, emergency personnel responded to the scene.

Police Sergeant Douglas Wisentaner said the baby was born before police arrived.

The birth went well and the baby looked healthy, officials said.

“I am very proud of my staff on this call,” Newtown Director of Communications Maureen Will said Thursday, July 14, the morning after the childbirth. “Dad and Mom may have the hard work, but [dispatchers] Jason Chickos and Bob Nute played a large role also. Jason did the [Emergency Medical Dispatch] function of giving dad the steps to take and Bob scrambled to get medics and ambulance, and thinking outside the box for the fire department assist.

“Job well done by all first responders and to the best of my knowledge mom, new baby son, and dad — who also did a great job — are all doing well,” she continued.

While ambulance personnel may encounter such situations more often than firefighters, Hook & Ladder Fire Chief Jason Rivera said it was the first time as a Newtown firefighter that he had encountered a baby’s birth.

“It seemed to go smoothly. It went well. The mother did most of the work,” he added.

The happy father, who was transporting his wife to the birthing center, gathered together the emergency personnel who had helped with the baby’s birth, taking their group picture and thanking them for their efforts before the group dispersed.

The mother and child then took a trip in a Danbury Ambulance to the hospital to be checked out.

The smiling father, who followed his wife and newborn son away from the scene in the family’s Jetta, said he had lots of plans to make.