The BQE stood for a Baby’s Quick Exit Thursday when a Williamsburg mother gave birth on the expressway.
The panicked parents were racing to a Staten Island hospital, but their infant couldn’t wait for them to reach the delivery room.
“The baby came out real quick,” said NYPD Officer George Tsoukaris, 37, who delivered the child on the Atlantic Ave. off-ramp of the BQE Expressway in Brooklyn. “I didn’t have any time to put on any gloves.”
The unidentified parents pulled off the expressway, and the father jumped out of his SUV at about 11:20 a.m. He ran up to Tsoukaris, who was parked on the Atlantic Ave. off-ramp watching traffic and pleaded for help.
“He seemed to be in a panic,” Tsoukaris said of the father. “He said, ‘My wife is having severe pains; she’s in labor.’ That’s when I sprang into action.”
Tsoukaris, a 17-year NYPD veteran, found the mother bent over in the passenger seat of the SUV. The cop radioed for the Emergency Medical Service, but quickly realized it wouldn’t get there in time.
“She was screaming at the top of her lungs,” Tsoukaris said of the mother. “She’s yelling, ‘The baby’s coming out, the baby’s coming out!'”
Tsoukaris said before he knew it, the newborn girl was in his hands as traffic zoomed by.
“The baby was ready to come out whether we liked it or not,” Tsoukaris said.
“I really didn’t expect it to happen that quickly,” Tsoukaris said. “Apparently, the baby didn’t want to wait for Hatzolah.”
At first the infant was silent, but then started to cry within five seconds.
“It was a relief, because that’s when I knew the baby would be okay,” Tsoukaris said.
Hatzolah arrived and whisked the mother and newborn to Long Island College Hospital.
The parents and child were in good condition last night, a police spokesman said. The family declined to comment.
The cop said he had helped deliver a baby when he first started with the NYPD, but had never had to do it solo until yesterday.
While he was in the delivery room to witness the births of his own three children, Tsoukaris said Thursday’s experience was no comparison.
“It’s one thing to see the miracle of life in a controlled environment like a hospital, but it’s another thing to have it happen on the highway,” Tsoukaris said. “Giving birth on Atlantic Ave. and the BQE isn’t exactly the best conditions. It’s the last thing you’d expect.”
(Source: NY Daily News)
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10 Responses
Perhaps she’ll be named Bracha Queen Ester or Tzorti or Nechama Yenta Perel Devora in honor of the police who delivered her.
Mazel Tov! May the family merit more simchos but not on the off-ramp of the BQE.
wow. maxel tov.
this is really not an appropriate story mr/rabbi yw!
if this happened to you, your wife would not be pleased to see it on the news.
Mazal tov vsimcha rabba.
mazel tov
not nice to post this
MAZAL TOV!!
WHAT A GREAT NEWS STORY.
FINALY A NICE STORY WITH A GOOD ENDING.
PRIVACY INTACT.
KEEP IT UP!!
What is the problem with posting this????? there are no names attached and at the end of the day these stories get around anyway, its nice that they gave Hakarus Hatov to the officer. There are so many horrible stories out there now its nice to see a story that ended up with a happy ending. Mazel Tov!!!! Much Nachas…….
When I scrolled down to read the comments I thought to myself “I hope the idiotic comments that are typical on YWN wont be made on this article” I guess it was a tfillas shav. Can’t we have a decent news site along with decent comments?!
P.S. I know these dopey comments for B”H this beautiful nes are mild compared to the incredibly many chillulei Hashem that other comments have made, but still why??
I apologize to all the intelligent readers who read my venting of my frustrations.
Just to let you know,
The information in the story is bogus.
This cop should be fired for what he did. When this poor father ran to him and bagged for help the cop did 2 things, he used his radio to call for help and he stopped the traffic. He let the father deliver his own baby and just stood there and watched.
If he would have ignored the story, we would have forgiven him, because not every cop is man enough and brave enough to do what he is supposed to in a crisis, but running to the press to take credit when he did nothing, NOTHING, zero, nada zilch, is a crime.
The real hero here is the father who despite going through the biggest scare of his life didn’t completely lose his composure and rescued his child.
I’m going to try to convince the father to go the press with the true story. Although, I doubt he will for obvious reasons.
A relative.