Woman in labor has 'white-knuckle' ride to hospital during hurricane, Florida cops say

Mark Price, The Charlotte Observer on Oct 11, 2024

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The closest route was through a town under a flash flood warning. Heavy rain was falling, electricity for traffic lights was spotty and wind gusts carried potentially dangerous debris.

Nonetheless, a pregnant Florida woman was in labor as Hurricane Milton was crossing Polk County, Thursday, Oct. 10, and she desperately needed to get to a hospital.

“At around 3:07 a.m., we received a 911 call about a young pregnant woman going into labor ... while Hurricane Milton was still beating down on Polk County,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an Oct. 11 Facebook post.

“Because of the high winds, ambulances were unable to transport people.”

Deputies came instead and Deputy Karina Calderin, who joined the department in 2023, wasted no time putting the expectant parents, Zenia Gil and Javier Casanova, into her patrol car.

The hospital was only about 5 miles away, but it was at the height of the storm.

Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall south of Tampa around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Winds as high as 103 mph were recorded in nearby Polk County, and 10.5 inches of rain had fallen as of 12:30 a.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service reports.

“I’m guessing the deputy was white-knuckle driving,” Polk County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Brian Bruchey told McClatchy News. “The drive was through the city limits of Lakeland … and Lakeland is where most of Polk County’s flooding occurred, so some streets did have high water.”

A second patrol car brought along the couple’s relatives, officials said. The entourage reached the hospital just before the eye of the storm passed over the county, officials said.

“Our deputies went back to the hospital later in the day to check up on everyone and learned that Zenia gave birth to a baby girl named Jade at about 1:30 p.m.” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office shared a photo of the newborn and her mom on Facebook and the post had more than 6,500 reactions and comments by midday Friday, Oct. 11. Many lauded the deputies for their courageousness, likening them to “angels” sent to escort a baby into the world.

“I can’t imagine a more frightening situation for the expectant parents,” Sharon Hart Harlan wrote on the department’s Facebook page.

“Thank you for going above and beyond during a time of devastating weather and ... giving this family one crazy but beautiful birth story,” Mary Wade posted.

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