Monterey Park : Baby Born in Traffic Snarl

A police officer investigating a traffic jam Monday helped a woman deliver a baby in her car. “I’m a little shaken by it, too,” said Officer Rob Daltorio, a 12-year veteran of the Monterey Park Police Department. “I didn’t have too much time to think about it. I didn’t even have time to call for help,” he said.

Daltorio was on routine patrol at 8:55 a.m. when he got stuck in a traffic jam at an intersection, he said. When he got out of his patrol car to investigate, a woman ran to him screaming and asking for help. Daltorio walked to the middle of the intersection and found a car locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Inside, he saw Cenovia Lopez on the front seat delivering her baby.

“I got down on my knees. All I could do was stand there and help,” Daltorio said, adding that after the 7-pound 13-ounce baby girl was born, he made sure the infant could breathe and wrapped her in a blanket he found in the car.

Lopez and the baby, which she named Elizabeth, were taken to Garfield Medical Center, where they were pronounced in good health, Daltorio said.