MEMPHIS, TN. – A Tennessee State trooper came to the rescue of a driver who was about to have a baby on the side of Interstate 40 Thursday night.
Aaron Ranker from Troop A of the Tennessee Highway Patrol delivered a healthy baby boy at mile marker 175 near Dickson.
“My biggest thing was trying to calm everyone down. Even the other officers there and everyone was a little deer in the headlights,” said Ranker. “That’s something that happens maybe once in a lifetime.”
Sharie Madrid, a Staff Sgt. in the Tennessee Army National Guard, was in Smyrna for training when her water broke.
Madrid thought she could make the three-hour drive back to her home in Desoto County, Mississippi, but got stuck in a traffic jam and began having major contractions.
“I knew it was happening right then, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it,” said Madrid
Trooper Ranker wasn’t even supposed to be working at the time, but he jumped into action to deliver the baby.
Ranker, who was once a firefighter and EMT, said he knew an ambulance would not be able to get to her time.
“I had to rub his back a little bit to get him to initially cry, and when I heard that scream, I knew we were going to be okay,” Ranker said. “It was quite an experience.”
Madrid said Trooper Ranker was the right person in the right place at the right time.
“I would not have known what to do. I was really thankful for him being there,” said Madrid.
Madrid’s son was born about three and half weeks early and weighed 6 pounds 5 ounces.
Ranker checked on them in the hospital, and the mother and baby are both doing well.
