Firefighters deliver baby girl on side of 15 freeway

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- San Bernardino County firefighters helped deliver a baby girl on the side of the southbound I-15 Freeway Friday night.

Carmen Uriax and Hector Tovar said there are no words to express their gratitude to firefighter Dustin Krajeski, who helped bring their daughter Averly into the world.

"It was a very, very difficult situation to be in. You hear about it, you never think it's going to happen to you, ever," Uriax said.

Averly's due date was not until April 1, but Uriax and Tovar were visiting family in Victorville when the contractions began.

The couple thought they had time to make it to the hospital, but just before 11:30 p.m. Uriax's water broke while they were on the southbound 15 Freeway in the Cajon Pass.

"We pulled over. He was on the phone with 911. In that moment I started freaking out [thinking] we're not ready for that. You never think about delivering your own baby," Uriax said.

"I didn't even know what to do. They were telling me, 'do you have a shoelace, do you have a clean blanket?' I'm freaking out. I'm like, 'I'm not trained to do this,'" Tovar said.

Krajeski and his crew arrived just in the nick of time to help deliver the baby girl. They prepared Uriax in the back of the couple's SUV.

The umbilical cord was wrapped around Averly's neck. Krajeski's training ensured a safe delivery. He's helped deliver a baby before, but not like this.

"First time on the side of the road. Usually we're either in a house or we're lucky enough to get in the back of an ambulance before it happens. So it was just a little bit more nerve-wracking in a small area with cars driving by and poor lighting," he said.

Averly weighed in at a healthy 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and she joins her 3-year-old big sister.

"She's healthy, she's perfect and I couldn't be more thankful for everyone who was a part of it," Uriax said.