SEAVILLE — Volunteer first responders continue to deliver on their promise of safety in Upper Township, this time taking their commitment to the extreme by helping deliver a baby on the side of the road.
According to John Brittin, deputy chief of the Upper Township Division of EMS, Squad 21 and Seaville Volunteer Fire Company Station 19 were dispatched at 9:03 p.m. Nov. 21 to mile marker 21.0 northbound on the Garden State Parkway to attend to a woman reportedly in labor in a vehicle.
Seaville Fire Deputy Chief Brian Allegretto, who is a mobile intensive car unit paramedic, arrived on the scene with New Jersey State Police at 9:09 p.m., followed by Upper Township’s ambulance staffed by EMTs Jessica Wriggins and William Handley and Seaville’s engine.
“Once on scene, EMS personnel evaluated the patient, confirmed that delivery was imminent, and prepared for delivery in the patient’s vehicle,” Brittin wrote in a news release.
According to reports, expectant parents Joanna Elswick and James Marsden were traveling from Cape May to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Galloway Township when Elswick went into labor.
Nearby Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional ended its maternity services in September 2022.
The couple pulled over and called 911.
“We had to wait for a trooper to get there and by the time he got there I was already pushing,” Elswick told television news.
Amelia Charlotte was born at 9:18 p.m., weighing 8 pounds and 7 ounces.
“Once the baby was delivered and tended to, the mother was loaded into the ambulance. Further care for the mother and the baby were provided while on scene. No complications were noted,” Brittin wrote.
According to Brittin, the mother and baby were transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Mainland Division in Galloway Township, where they were both doing well as of Nov. 22.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff