Port Authority officer delivers baby girl at Holland Tunnel entrance

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Port Authority police assisted with the delivery of a baby girl near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City during this morning’s rush.

Photo Credit: *l-r: Kai Tang, Ying Chen, PAPD Officers Catherine Prior and Matthew Smith (Courtesy PORT AUTHORITY PD*

Jerry DeMarco

11/04/2013 5:34 p.m.

The baby’s father caught the attention of Officer Catherine Prior and Officer Luis Alvardo at 6:45 a.m. as he stood outside his sedan, which was pulled over at the toll plaza, barely 50 feet from the tunnel entrance, the authority’s Joseph Pentangelo said.

Inside the car, 21-year-old Ying Chen of Brooklyn had gone into labor, he said.

The officers “immediately provided first aid and requested an ambulance via radio,” Pentangelo said.

Port Authority officer Matthew Smith, a trained and certified EMT, quickly arrived with an obstetrical kit and oxygen from the PAPD booth at the tunnel, he said.

Smith “clamped and cut the infant’s umbilical cord and secured the placenta for transport to Jersey City Medical Center,” Pentangelo said.

Fellow authority officers cleared the way for an ambulance to take mother and daughter to the medical center. Both were reported in good condition.

PHOTO: l-r: Kai Tang, Ying Chen, PAPD Officers Catherine Prior and Matthew Smith (Courtesy PORT AUTHORITY PD)

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