Good Samaritans Care For Newborn After Teen Mom Abandons Baby At Jersey City Restaurant
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A teenager, desperate for help, left her baby in the hands of strangers at a restaurant in Jersey City this week.
As CBS2's Kevin Rincon reported Friday, it was all caught on camera.
Unsure where to go or what to do, the 14-year-old girl decided to go into a restaurant and approached the counter with a sense of desperation on May 19.
"She looks at me with these really sad, terrified eyes and she asked me for help," said Frankie Aguilar, who owns El Patron Restaurant.
That's when Alease Scott got up, sanitized her hands and stepped in.
"I sat down, I checked the baby's vitals. The heart rate was strong, but the breathing was really labored," Scott said.
The teen mom left while Scott was helping.
Luckily, Scott had training in CPR and first aid. She's also a mother of three.
"I was just so happy once I got the oxygen mask onto the baby and she started to cry because that meant that she was going to be OK," Scott said.
Her boyfriend, abandoned as a baby himself, was emotional. He captured the moment that newborn started crying.
The teamwork at El Patron created a special bond; they helped save a life.
"There's been so many incidents where she could have put the baby in a trash can or left the baby with a stranger that would have done some harm to the baby," Scott said.
"She did the best thing she could do, under the circumstances. You could have left the baby anywhere. Couldn't even be alive, but instead she allowed the baby to have a second chance with at least somebody," said Aguilar.
Police were able to catch up with the teen. She was taken to the hospital and will not be charged.
New Jersey's Safe Haven Law allows parents to drop off babies at hospitals, police stations or fire houses up to a month after birth.
The baby girl is being treated at Jersey City Medical Center and will be put up for adoption.
CBS2's Kevin Rincon contributed to this report.