Jackson PD officer helps deliver baby boy on side of road
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JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson police officer whose patrol Tuesday night included bringing new life into the world speaks for the first time. WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News was the first to tell you about Officer Joshua Vinson and his rather unique request for help. He said he was just in the right place at the right time when a family from out of town could not make it to the hospital in time. “The baby was coming,” Sgt. Steven Story with the Jackson Police Department said. “You can’t stop nature.” Lambuth Boulevard became a makeshift delivery room Tuesday night. “This car comes pulling up, and the lady said something about her baby, so I was expecting a child choking or something like that,” Vinson said. “So I ran down there and she said the baby was coming, and I looked down and I was like, ‘whoa!'” Vinson was on patrol when the family flagged him down, and in just minutes a bouncing baby boy was in his arms. But, if not for his quick thinking and know-how, this story might have had a different ending. “The baby just came out,” Vinson said. “Then I noticed the baby wasn’t breathing or crying, and the cord was wrapped around his neck.” Vinson, who served in the United States Marine Corps for five years said his training led him the rest of the way. “I held his head because he was a newborn and started rolling him to get the cord unwrapped around his neck,” Vinson said. “Eventually, I got it where I could unravel it and then wrapped up him real quick to keep him warm.” A few moments later, Vinson said an ambulance arrived to take the mother and her healthy newborn son to the hospital. “I call it a heroic act,” Story said. “He potentially saved the life of this baby, considering the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.” The two-year department veteran said although this was not anything he could have learned in the academy, he is happy he was able to lend a helping hand. “They just happened to see my car sticking out of the ally and just stopped,” Vinson said. “I was there at the right place and the right time.” Though WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News had hoped to talk with the new mom, she is asking for privacy. Vinson and Story said they both will be visiting the family in the hospital soon.
