Any doctor will tell you that when a baby's ready to be delivered, nothing's going to stop it from coming into the world.
When baby Joscelyn Cervantes decided to make her debut Friday, she didn't give her mother much time.
Feeling the labor pains, Bernarda Cruz asked her North Philadelphia neighbor Jessy Torres to drive her to Temple University Hospital.
The two jumped into Torres' white compact and made their way to the hospital. But with only a few blocks to go, the ladies quickly realized the baby might arrive before they got there.
"She's saying 'It's almost out, it's almost out,'" Torres said. "I go you need to breathe, you need to breathe."
Seeing two Philadelphia police officers on bike patrol, Torres flagged them down and asked for help.
Knowing they weren't far from the hospital, officers Sean McCafferty and Knut Mellon jumped into their nearby patrol car, flipped on the lights and told the Torres to follow.
A few minutes later, all four made it to the hospital's parking lot, but didn't make it in the door before the time came.
"That baby was coming and it was coming," McCafferty said. The officers dropped Bernarda's seat back and grabbed a knife to cut open her pants.
"The baby literally came out right on the front seat of that tiny little car," McCafferty said.
The baby's head was just inches from the car's dashboard as the three worked to deliver the 7 lbs. 7 oz. baby, Torres said.
"You kinda just go into, like, emergency action and just gotta do what you have to do – that's just to get the baby and make sure the baby's safe," Mellon said.
When Joseclyn arrived she was blue and wasn't breathing. Fortunately, an EMS unit waiting in the parking lot came rushing over to help. McCafferty said they took care of cutting the umbilical cord and reviving the baby. They then helped Bernarda onto a stretcher.
"Once the baby started to cry, I mean, it was a big sigh of relief," McCafferty said. Hours later baby Joseclyn and Bernarda were warm in a hospital bed and doing fine.
Officers McCafferty and Mellon said they were just expecting to get Bernarda into the emergency room, but were glad they could help save the baby.
"We were lucky we were right around the corner from Temple," McCafferty said.
As for Torres, she was thrilled to take part in the birth, even if it had to be in her car.
"It was gorgeous and beautiful," she said.
