SANTA ANA : Officer Delivers in 3rd Birth Assist

A police officer who was pulling out of the station Tuesday helped deliver a baby in the back of a car after he was flagged down to help a woman in labor, police said.

Officer Nick Gutierrez, a 13-year veteran, was leaving the department on Ross Street about 3:40 p.m. when a woman came up to him and said, “I need help. My sister-in-law is having a baby,” Gutierrez quoted the woman as saying.

Gutierrez said he went to the car and saw Virgen Noyola, 22, of Santa Ana in the back seat “experiencing a lot of pain” and in the middle of a breach birth. He called for help and then began assisting Noyola.

“I had the baby all the way out to the shoulders when the paramedics arrived and took over,” he said.

Paramedics completed the birth and transported Noyola and her newborn girl to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where both were reported in good condition.

Noyola and her sister-in-law said they were looking for a hospital when they spotted Gutierrez.

“This was the third time that I’ve helped deliver a baby and it doesn’t get any easier,” Gutierrez said, but added: “I’m just glad I was there.”