PHOENIX -
A valley woman went into labor in the middle of rush hour traffic Tuesday morning, and a Department of Public Safety officer found himself getting ready to deliver a baby on the side of the interstate.
A friend was driving the woman to the hospital but they hit morning rush hour traffic on I-10, which was made worse by a crash.
So when they saw police lights they stopped. In no time, police found themselves getting ready to deliver the baby, right there and then.
"I get a refresher in child birth every two years."
For EMT and DPS officer Jason Knox, that training came in handy this morning.
Knox was listening to his police radio on the way to work around 7:30 a.m. when he heard a fellow officer, investigating a crash at I-10 and 43rd Avenue, put another call out.
"He said hey I have a 101, a female pulled up behind me and she appears to be in labor," recalls Knox.
Knox, who was at I-10 and 67th Avenue, told dispatch he was heading that way.
"Upon arrival it was very apparent that yes there was a woman in labor. I asked if her water had broke and she said yes. I looked at the other officer and said well, we're going to have to take a look."
Knox, who has two children of his own, estimated the woman's contractions were 30 seconds apart.
"I advised my department to let Phoenix Fire know, hey you need to step it up because we're going to have a baby. At that point I was just telling her it was going to be ok."
Knox continues, "I carry an EMT bag with me. I had put on some gloves and made sure I had an extra blanket for when the baby arrived. And some ties to tie the umbilical cord, and I was getting set up."
Just as it seemed Knox would be helping deliver a baby on the side of the interstate, red lights came to the rescue.
"The ambulance showed up shortly after that and we were able to get her to the hospital."
Knox, who worked for the Surprise Fire Department before going to DPS, says he's gone on labor calls before, even on the side of the road. But he admits this was a close call.
"Luckily we've been able to make it to the hospital every time so… this was probably as close as I've been besides being in the hospital watching my own child be delivered."
Knox says this was her second child. Her 2-year-old was asleep in the back of her car during the entire ordeal. The woman delivered a baby girl at the hospital.
