ST. GEORGE — Less than 35 minutes after LaVerkin Police Sgt. Amber Crouse responded a childbirth call, Montee Remington Hare was delivered into the sergeant’s hands in an ambulance on Interstate 15.
“I’ve always said that my career would not be complete until I delivered a baby,” Crouse said.
At about 9 a.m. Sunday, Crouse was dispatched to the first call of her shift but was rerouted shortly after to a childbirth call at a residence in LaVerkin. She arrived at the home to find Kelli Hare in active labor.
It was then that Crouse said she quickly realized that she “was going to be delivering a baby today.”
Emergency medical personnel arrived minutes later and loaded “mom, medical staff and Sgt. Crouse” into the ambulance and headed west toward the interstate.
While en route to the hospital, labor progressed to the point that the mother began pushing.
“I knew we were never going to make it to the hospital in time,” Crouse said.
She was right.
As the ambulance continued south on I-15 towards Dixie Regional Medical Center, Crouse continued coaching the mother, and the birth began moving very quickly. A minute or so later, Crouse caught the infant just as he entered the world.
Immediately after the birth, the baby was breathing but failed to cry. EMTs began performing CPR on the baby while still en route to the hospital, and by the time they reached the medical facility, the infant was crying normally.
“He was taken upstairs into the NICU, and a few hours later, he was brought to my room and is here with me now,” Hare said.
While describing the experience in the ambulance, Hare said that Crouse “was confident and seemed like she knew what she was doing, even though she’s never done it before, which made me feel better.”
Hare said her son’s birth was anything but routine.
“My baby boy was born on the interstate,” she said. “I’m not sure where, exactly, but he’s here.”
The emergency medical staff with Hurricane Valley Fire District also played an integral role in making sure it was a safe delivery. They provided emergency care to the struggling infant immediately after delivery, which Crouse said made all the difference in the world.
“Those EMTs should be recognized for their efforts that resulted in arriving at the hospital with a breathing, healthy newborn baby boy,” she said. “I caught the baby and cut the cord.”
Mother and infant are doing well.
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With all the difficult tasks Amber Crouse has to do each day as a police officer, this must be exciting for her to know she was a big part of the beginning of life for the baby. Congrats t her, the mother, and the baby.