This E-470 road side birth took it’s toll.
In a rush to welcome their third child, a Colorado couple found themselves in a situation far from what they had planned. Caitlin and Cole Kingsbury were desperately trying to make it back to their Littleton hospital in heavy traffic, but the baby had other plans.
As they navigated rush-hour traffic on E-470 near Parker Road, Caitlin realized that their third child wasn’t going to wait. With just 12 minutes left before reaching the hospital, the situation escalated quickly. “My wife’s water just broke,” Cole urgently relayed to the 911 dispatcher. Despite their best efforts, it became clear that a roadside delivery was inevitable.
The couple had been staying at Cole’s parents’ house in Littleton to be closer to their hospital, but on this particular day, they had to return home to Windsor for their older son’s back-to-school night. After meeting the teacher and taking some time to relax, Caitlin began to feel contractions. Initially dismissing them as a false alarm, she tried to rest and take a bath. However, it soon became clear that these contractions were the real deal.
At around 4:30 p.m., the family hurriedly got into the car, hoping to make it to the hospital in time. Unfortunately, rush-hour traffic turned their usual one-hour drive into an hour-and-a-half ordeal. Just as they neared their destination, Caitlin’s labor progressed rapidly.
Realizing they wouldn’t make it, the Kingsburys pulled over on the side of southbound E-470. Emergency dispatcher Connor Blinzler from South Metro Fire Rescue guided them through the delivery over the phone. With just one or two pushes, their baby boy was born, his first cries heard over the phone, much to the relief of his parents.
“I caught him on the second push,” Cole recounted, recalling how he quickly found a clean pillowcase to wrap the newborn in. “By the time I got out of the driver’s side and reached the passenger’s side, you could already see his head coming out. It was go time.”
Within ten minutes of the birth, a full EMT crew, including two fire trucks, two ambulances, and three other emergency vehicles, arrived on the scene. The new parents and their baby were safely transported to the hospital, where they were visited the next day by the emergency crew, including Blinzler, who had helped them through the unexpected roadside delivery.
Despite the unconventional birth, everyone was healthy and happy, making this a story the Kingsburys will never forget.
