SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A pregnant woman gave birth on the side of a La Jolla-area road Monday morning after her husband crashed as they rushed to the hospital.
The single-vehicle crash happened just before 3 a.m. on Genesee Avenue near the southbound Interstate 5 offramp.
10News learned the Ying Shi and her husband Hongwei Zhang were on their way to Scripps La Jolla Hospital after Shi went into labor, but as Zhang exited southbound I-5, he turned left onto Genesee Avenue and crashed into several construction rails.
Emergency room nurse Dayna Dumont had just clocked out of her shift when the husband flagged her down from the side of the road.
Dumont says she was worried when he told her his wife was pregnant inside the wrecked station wagon.
"I looked at her and said 'are you okay?' And she just sat there calmly and said 'yes, but I think the baby is here,'" said Dumont, "so we kind of pulled her sweatpants down and there was a baby sitting there in her pants."
Dumont added this was her first delivery in her 6-year nursing career.
Emergency crews arrived at the scene to help Shi deliver the baby in the family's SUV.
The couple and their newborn daughter were taken to the hospital and are in good condition.
The couple issued the following statement via hospital officials:
"First of all, as Christians we want to thank God for keeping us safe through all of this. Next, we want to thank all of the people who gave us help. When this happened, we thought we were all alone. But very quickly, a woman stopped to help us and called 911. Then a man stopped to assist. They were both complete strangers but they stopped to help us anyway. We are grateful to all of the paramedics who took good care of us and the baby. We are so very grateful to everyone who came to our aid and kept us safe. We are also thankful for all of the doctors, nurses, midwives and staff members at Scripps who have provided excellent care to us. Our new daughter, Anna, is doing wonderful thanks to all of them."
