In the early morning hours of January 31, 2019, Currituck County 911 telecommunicator Brandi Leary calmly provided expert direction to a couple as they delivered their newborn son while parked in their car on the side of Highway 168 in Moyock.  The couple was traveling north through Currituck when they realized the woman’s contractions were very close together and that delivery was imminent.  Knowing they couldn’t get to a hospital in time, the father called 9-1-1 as he was driving.

Leary, a 4-year veteran of Currituck’s 911 Communications staff, handled the call with great skill and composure. While fellow telecommunicator Taylor Rolling immediately dispatched an ambulance from Currituck Emergency Medical Services, Leary instructed the couple of pull over to a safe location.

By the time Leary answered the call, the baby’s head was already visible to the parents. She provided step-by-step directions and the baby boy was born at 4:32 a.m. Leary continued to give instructions for the parents to care for the baby while the ambulance was in route.  Leary could hear the baby crying in the background and her calm, reassuring demeanor on the phone helped comfort the couple, especially the mother, as they waited for the ambulance to arrive and take the family to a hospital. Once paramedics were on scene, Leary congratulated the couple and ended the call.

This is the first time a telecommunicator has talked someone through a complete delivery since Currituck 911 became an emergency medical dispatch center in 2003. This happy ending is a wonderful example of how Currituck County is served by a well-trained and highly capable staff of 911 telecommunicators.   Congratulations to everyone involved!

(By request of the family, the names of the parents and their baby son are not being publicized.)