State Trooper Gives Instructions Over Phone to Deliver Baby Girl on Route 5/15

A baby girl was born on the Route 5/15 in Hartford early this morning with some help from a state trooper who provided instructions over the phone to ensure the mom and baby were OK.

Imani Crawford, 26, of Wethersfield, was in the car on the way to the hospital with a friend when she realized they weren’t going to make it.

Her friend, a cousin of the baby’s father, called 911 at 1:24 a.m., told dispatchers that they were on Route 5/15 and Crawford was in labor. The dispatcher told the caller to pull over and wait for first responders.

They did, but Crawford’s baby had other plans, so the women called 911 again and got State Trooper Charles Lavoie.

"I answered it and it happened to be the female operator of that vehicle and she explained that the baby was coming," Lavoie said.

So, the father of two provided instructions over the phone to ensure that the baby was breathing and mom and baby would stay safe and warm until first responders got to them.

This is the second highway birth Lavoie has assisted in and he called the experience "awesome."

By the time police got to Route 5/15 in Hartford, on the Wethersfield line, the baby, Gelaih Murphy, had arrived. M

EMS brought the newborn and mom to Saint Francis Hospital.

Crawford said she gave birth while squatting on the highway and the entire labor lasted about an hour. Gelaih wasn’t due until Feb. 25.

Both mom and daughter were checked out at the hospital and are happy and healthy.

Gelaih is Crawford’s second child. She is also mom to a 1-year-old daughter.

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