South Jersey EMS workers recall helping mother deliver baby on side of road

EGG HARBOR TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- Of course, first responders go through training, but nothing truly prepares you for something like a roadside delivery, especially along the Black Horse Pike.

"We showed up, she was crowning, so she was ready to go. I hopped right in the front seat and adjusted her, started coaching her and telling her to push," explained Egg Harbor Township EMT Jillian Ellish.

Many moms plan to deliver their baby at a hospital; that was the case for Sarah Wanzer, but things quickly took a turn.

"The baby had other plans; she decided to come at 4:58 in the morning on the side of the road," said Sarah Wanzer.

Wanzer and her partner were on their way to the hospital last Thursday when he had to call 911 to tell them they weren't going to make it.

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"She's stressed because the baby is coming, so I'm trying to keep her calm along with the father. My main concern was to keep her calm so nothing went wrong," explained Juliet Lipari, the dispatcher who answered their call.

The first responders on the scene didn't skip a beat, they knew they had one job to do.

"Delivery is scary in a controlled environment, let alone something along those lines. As soon as she heard the cries, best sound ever," noted Ellish.

Wanzer never thought she'd see the people who brought her baby into the world ever again, but something like this deserved a reunion.

"We met in the lobby, she couldn't hug everybody enough, then we went upstairs and met the baby," said Chris Breunig, the director and chief of Emergency Services for Egg Harbor Township.

Wanzer can't thank the team of first responders enough, from the moment they called 911 to everyone who responded.

Wanzer has already been discharged, and her daughter Miamor is healthy and expected to be discharged on Tuesday.