Traci Muldoon

Muldoon 1

Suzanne Schenkel
Comm 101
1 December 2014
Baby Born on Freeway
A baby was born on the freeway this Tuesday afternoon, just near the Imperial
Highway off-ramp in Brea after an accident with a truck blocked all southbound traffic
for cars on the highway, including the vehicle of the pregnant, Mary Robbins.
22-year old Robbins, was on her way to the South Brea Community Hospital,
with her sister, Isabel Lee, after she went into labor in her home in Brea at about 4:45pm
that evening. The sisters were only about five miles from the hospital, when all vehicles
on the road came to a halt after a truck jackknifed others cars on the road, blocking all
southbound traffic. Lee was in the second to left lane but was unable to switch into the
lane they needed to get onto the exit to the hospital because of the stalled traffic. The two
had been in the car for 40 minutes for a trip that normally takes only 20 minutes.
It was 5:20 p.m. and Robbins contractions were only seconds a part when Lee
asked the driver of the van next to her, John Perez for help. Perez, an employee of UPS,
radioed his dispatchor and asked them to call the paramedics. He and Lee helped Mary
walk from the car to the van to lie down. Perez, who has assisted in the birth of his two
children, Unfolded a blanket in the back of his delivery van, where Robbins began to
contract and gave birth at 5:35pm, just before the paramedics arrived. The paramedics
arrived just minutes after the baby was born and transported the mother and child to the
hospital. The babys name was Jessica and weight 8 pounds and 3 ounces.

"I've been a driver for 20 years, and before today the biggest emergency I
encountered was a lady with a flat tire. This is a day I'll never forget Perez stated.

The baby was taken care of at the South Brea Community Hospital, where according to
spokeswoman of the hospital, Martha Penkingcane, the mother and daughter are resting
are currently in good health.