‘Miracle on I-35′: Trooper helps deliver 2nd baby on side of highway in less than a month
ARK CITY, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) - A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper is receiving praise for helping deliver not one, but two babies on the side of the highway in less than a month.
Lauren and Mike Rosales left Ark City, Kansas, at about 3 a.m. on Jan. 12, hoping to make it to a Wichita hospital more than an hour away to welcome their second son into the world, but their baby had other ideas.
“The minute I told Mike that it was time to go, I just felt like we weren’t going to make it,” Lauren Rosales said. “All of a sudden, things got really real really fast and about the minute we got in the car, I was like, ‘Mike, this baby is coming. We’re not gonna make it.’”
Mike Rosales said his wife told him that he needed to pull over and the couple stopped on the side of Interstate 35 and called 911. Minutes later, Trooper Da’Von Brame came to the rescue.
“About five minutes after we started everything, I saw lights off in the distance and at that point, you could feel a sense of relief,” Mike Rosales said.
Brame said he’d just left the office to begin his patrol when he heard the call.
“First thing I think is, ‘Oh man, here comes a baby. What do I need to do?’” he said.
The trooper stepped up as a calming force for the couple. He credited his training and the births of his three children with helping him with a checklist of what he needed to do. Brame knew the cold weather presented a concern so he had blankets immediately available.
“As long as the baby’s breathing and crying and staying warm, that’s what you do until paramedics get there,” he said.
With Brame’s help, Pierson Rosales was born on the side of the Kansas Turnpike.
Lauren and Mike Rosales are grateful for Brame, with Mike Rosales referring to him as a “godsend.”
They are especially thankful for Brame’s preparation in an emergency that isn’t as common as the trooper’s recent experiences might indicate. The trooper had responded to a similar call just three weeks prior in Butler County.
“I am always prepared for everything and so obviously in this situation, it just demonstrates that you can’t always be prepared,” Lauren Rosales said.
With Lauren Rosales and the baby happy and healthy, the couple have extended an invitation to any of Pierson’s birthday parties as the infant grows.
“We’re eternally grateful to him and just very, very fortunate that he was able to be there with us that night, and like I said, just very grateful,” Lauren Rosales said.
Brame said he’s thankful the family is doing well and plans to take up the offer to keep in touch.
“[Mike] wants me to come back for [Pierson’s] first birthday and I’m gonna make it a point to do that on his one-year birthday,” Brame said. “And hopefully, maybe, as long as I live, you know, I can you know, see him every birthday or keep in contact with him and say, ‘Hey buddy,’ ya know, ‘How’s it goin?’ And make sure he’s doing good.”
With another three weeks passing since Pierson Rosales was born, Brame isn’t expecting lightning to strike for a third time. But if he’s called to assist with another roadside delivery, he’s ready.
“This month was pretty crazy,” Brame said. “I hope that’s it but if it comes again, I’m ready for it.”
Copyright 2024 KWCH via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
