Middletown Police Deliver Baby in Parking Lot

MIDDLETOWN, NJ - Axl couldn't wait. Middletown Township police officers delivered a baby Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of the Comfort Inn on Rt. 35.

At approximately 12:15 p.m. Saturday, officers from the Middletown Twp. Police Department responded to a 911 call for a pregnant woman in need of assistance. The Middletown family had been driving to the hospital; however they were forced to pull over as the woman’s labor was progressing too quickly to make it in time. Kristen Erickson's husband, Roy Erickson, pulled into the parking lot of the Comfort Inn on Highway 35 and called 911.

Patrolman Nicholas Manochio quickly arrived on scene and tended to the expecting mother, who was seated in the front passenger seat of the car. Corporal Ryan Riffert then arrived on scene as the baby was beginning to crown. The two officers then delivered the baby in the vehicle.

Shortly after the baby was born, Port Monmouth First Aid and Monoc Paramedics arrived and took over medical care and subsequently transported mother and baby to Riverview Medical Center.

The mother and her newborn son, Axl, of Middletown, are both in good health. Erickson extends her thanks and appreciation to the two officers.

Photos of Axl, top, Kristen Erickson and the Middletown police officers.