A real hero

AP Associated Press
Sept. 11, 2008 7:34 pm
Scott Sonner

Nevada trooper delivers baby

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- During 11 years on the force, Nevada state trooper Dave Cox had heard stories about officers delivering babies in the back of cars but he never dreamed that he'd end up playing doctor Thursday on a busy highway shoulder.

The mother, Maria Vazquez of Carson City, and her 7-pound son were resting comfortably at Renown Medical Center Thursday afternoon - her 22nd birthday.

The adventure began when Vazquez's sister, Maria Moreno, went with a friend to pick her up at her home about noon to make the 45-minute drive to the hospital in Reno. "It had only been about 30 minutes and my sister was having a lot of pain. She said the baby was coming, that it was coming now," said Moreno,

Cox and his Nevada Highway Patrol partner Shawn Valiant were taking a crash report on U.S. 395 on the southeast side of Reno when the red Ford pickup pulled up behind them and the driver jumped out. "He started screaming, `She's having a baby! She's having a baby!'" Cox said.

By the time Cox opened the rear passenger-side door, Moreno pulled back a blanket to show the baby's head and shoulder already had crowned.

"I had just enough time to catch him as he quickly exited," Cox said. "I gloved up and tried best I could to clear out his mouth. It wasn't crying yet, which worried me a bit, so I started rubbing his chest and belly like I'd seen the doctor do with my boys and he started crying."