Elk Grove Family Thankful Officer Helped Deliver Baby On Side Of Road
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — An Elk Grove family is thankful for a police officer who helped deliver their child in a parking lot off of Elk Grove Boulevard.
Vanessa Rios and her husband were trying to make it to the hospital, but realized it wasn't going to happen.
"I could feel that baby was starting to come, we were on our way toward Elk Grove Boulevard," she said.
"She was standing up in the car, and she tells me, 'Dave get that cop, I don't care if we have to run a red light."
She spotted a different cop car, but officer Dan Templeton was right next to them and got them to pull over in a Les Schwab parking lot.
Templeton had basic training on delivering babies, but he relied more on knowledge gained seeing his own kids delivered.
"In the moment you're in the zone, you don't even have time to think," he said. "but once the baby was delivered, the adrenalin rush, I'm shaking."
The couple didn't know it, but their 8-pound, 14-ounce baby boy had turned blue during delivery. Templeton got him breathing.
To celebrate, they had a special surprise for their new roadside hero: Their baby's middle name is Daniel, named after Templeton.
Elk Grove Police say they think this is the first time one of their officers has ever delivered a baby solo. And according to a brand-new policy created for this event, the baby's mom now gets the dashcam video.
