It was an unforgettable arrival — delivered right off the highway.
A New Jersey mother welcoming her second child gave birth to a baby boy on the New Jersey Turnpike last week, aided by her husband, a state trooper and an unlikely tool: a cellphone charger.
Kristen Fast went into labor on July 2, four days ahead of schedule, but the couple never made it to the hospital. Instead, their son was born along the roadside in Secaucus, according to ABC7.
“The doula said, ‘pull over, hang up, call 911.’ So we did that. We called 911. The operator started walking him through what to do,” Kristen told the outlet.
“Next thing I know, I get in the back seat, and we’re making sure she’s comfortable, and I look down, and that baby is ready to go,” her husband, Alex Fast, said.
New Jersey State Trooper Freddie Guacamaya arrived after the emergency call and helped Kristen safely deliver her healthy son — with an iPhone charging cord pressed into service during the roadside birth.
“I said, ‘Are you the EMT?’ And he didn’t answer. So I said, ‘You are not an EMT. I’m in danger.’ But he was fine, he was being very calm,” Kristen said, recalling Guacamaya’s response at the scene.
In the rush of the moment, the couple was told to quickly clamp the umbilical cord with string, but the only thing they had available was a phone charger.
“So I panicked and just looked in the front and we just had an iPhone cable,” Alex said. “So we just clamped the cord with an iPhone cable.”
“The EMTs came and they said, ‘What is this?,’” Kristen recalled.
With the help of three officers who also arrived on scene, Kristen, Alex and their newborn son Archer were transported to Hackensack University Medical Center.
“They were amazing. They drove our car to the hospital for us, which was so nice. They paid for our valet,” the elated parents said of the responding officers.
Baby Archer’s exact birthplace was recorded accurately as the New Jersey Turnpike I-95, mile marker 113.
“Archer’s healthy. He’s thriving. He’s a Jersey boy through and through,” Kristen said.
“I don’t think you get more Jersey than being born on the New Jersey Turnpike.”
