An ice cream truck driver has been praised by emergency first responders for helping a woman give birth in the back of her car while the two were stuck in rush-hour traffic on the I-294.
Ethan King was traveling home in his truck on Monday 21st November when he became stuck in heavy traffic on the interstate. Just after 6pm, he noticed that the woman in the car in the next lane was trying to catch his attention:
“She was waving her hands up at me and she seemed super-distressed. I rolled down my window and she yelled out, asking me if I had a cell phone or a first aid kit in the truck”.
Mrs. Hughes, a resident of Kankakee County, had prematurely gone into labor during her journey home. Mr. King called 911 and then was able to use the truck’s first aid kit, paper towels and a YouTube tutorial on his iPad to successfully deliver Mrs. Hughes’ daughter. Ten minutes later, an ambulance crew arrived to transport her to the local hospital. I met Mrs. Hughes in the maternity ward yesterday:
“I just want to thank Ethan again. He’s a shining example of what makes Chicagoans so great. The baby was four weeks early, so we’re a bit unprepared—we’ve still not got a name! I want to pick a good ice-cream-themed name for my daughter, but I don’t think Ben or Jerry is going to cut it”.