Boone County firefighter assists woman in giving birth on I-70 during snowstorm

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

In an ambulance rolling down the ice and snow-covered highway, a small bundle of joy was brought into the world with the help of some paramedics and Boone County Firefighter Ryan Benedict.

Benedict and other first responders were called into action Thursday morning when Boonville Police Officer Clinton Barger informed them he'd need help transporting 29-year-old Elizabeth to the Women's and Children's Hospital in Columbia. Elizabeth was in labor and gave birth in the MU Health ambulance on I-70 at 9:46 a.m., nearly halfway to the hospital.

While she was brought into the world under unusual circumstances, healthy baby Nova spent her first day with her parents at the hospital nice and warm.

First responders took several measures to make sure the family was comfortable during the ride to the hospital, despite the unusual circumstances and raging winter storm.

When Clinton met Benedict and other paramedics at Boone County Fire Station 9 to transfer Elizabeth from the police car to the ambulance, firefighters pulled all the trucks out of the fire bay to allow room for Elizabeth to move between vehicles without going into the snow.

Benedict said first responders are trained to answer all kinds of calls, even labor.

"This was not something that I've done before, this was something that the Boone County Fire District has trained us very well on, but this was my first delivery," Benedict said.

If it's not an emergency or absolutely necessary, Boone County Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp asks people to stay off the roads because it's difficult for first responders to get to people when they need to during the snowstorm.

"What we do see is maybe some difficulty getting an ambulance up a driveway or maybe getting a firetruck up a driveway," Blomenkamp said.