Baby on Board! One of the newer residents of the Washington DC area arrived in the most unexpected way: aboard a Metro train that stopped in front of the New Carrollton station earlier this month.
The employees recounted that July 13 was a normal work day, until around 1:30 pm they learned that a woman was in labor on board a train. They grabbed towels and personal protective equipment (PPE) and tried to calm the mom-to-be while they waited for the paramedics.
“Hectic. It was frantic,” one worker recounted.
On Wednesday, three Metro employees, Thomas Adams, Latasha Bostic, and José Flores, received a standing ovation as they were honored for their actions.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I would take the child on board,” recalls one of them. “But we went to get the PPE, we just stood there and they said, ‘I think this baby is going to come out.’ By the time we saw if the fire department or emergency services were coming, the baby was already halfway out,” he added.
A bystander ended up helping deliver the newborn. Paramedics arrived shortly after the baby did, just in time to cut the umbilical cord.
As for what Metro employees told their families at the end of the day:
“You will not believe what has happened,” said one of them.
“Right?” joked another. Those were my first words: You won’t believe what happened.”
The boy and his mother are fine.
