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Woman Gives Birth to Baby Girl in Back of Uber Cab Outside Lincoln Tunnel

By Ben Fractenberg | September 1, 2015 1:50pm | Updated on September 1, 2015 4:28pm
 A woman gave birth in the back of an Uber SUV outside the Lincoln Tunnel Monday evening, Aug. 31, 2015. 
Lincoln Tunnel Uber Birth
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MIDTOWN — A baby girl was born in the back of an Uber SUV outside the Lincoln Tunnel Monday evening, according to officials.

A 32-year-old woman ordered an Uber after going into labor at her Hoboken home on Aug. 31. She started to give birth while she was in back of the Toyota Highlander with her mother in the south tube of the tunnel at about 5:25 p.m. and someone in the car then called 911, according to officials and sources. 

After exiting the tunnel, New Jersey-based driver Erick Rodriguez pulled over at 40th Street and Dyer Avenue, flagged down police and started yelling to them he had a woman in labor in the back of his car who “couldn’t wait,” according to officials and Uber.

 Quick-thinking Uber driver Erick Rodriguez helped flag down officers after a woman started to give birth in the back of his car while they were driving through the Lincoln Tunnel Monday evening, Aug. 31, 2015.
Quick-thinking Uber driver Erick Rodriguez helped flag down officers after a woman started to give birth in the back of his car while they were driving through the Lincoln Tunnel Monday evening, Aug. 31, 2015.
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Uber

Port Authority officers Michael Principe and Stephen Corrigan helped comfort the soon-to-be mom while FDNY EMTs Christopher Maldonado and Matthew Herzog arrived on scene with paramedics Lee Castro, Amanda Henry and Lt. Rezaur Rahman.

"The baby’s head began to show, so that’s when we knew we had to deliver at the scene," Herzog said during a press conference at EMS Station 7 in Chelsea Tuesday afternoon. "Mom did great. She really helped us out a lot."

Tunnel and Bridge Senior Agent Greg Nimmo also helped deliver the healthy baby girl, said Port Authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo.

Responders were able to put the girl in her mother's arms while an ambulance took them to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, an FDNY spokesman said.

It was the first delivery for both the EMTs and paramedics on the scene, they said Tuesday. 

"It was a great joyous moment for all of us. And everybody was high-fiving," Rahman said at the press conference. "Everybody was laughing and it was a great moment."

Uber is giving Rodriguez a pair of Yankees tickets and will pay to deep clean his vehicle, the company said in a statement. 

It is also sending the baby girl an Uber logo-adorned onesie and giving the family a free ride home from the hospital.  

"We are very proud of Uber driver-partner Erick Rodriguez for his quick action to help ensure the latest Uber baby arrived safely," Uber New Jersey General Manager Ana Mahony said in a statement.