Ashland cop helps mom deliver baby girl in van
By IRV OSLIN
T-G Staff Writer
If he could remember that far back, it would have been deja vu for Abraham Dvorak.
Abraham was born in a car 32 years ago in Valley City. His wife, Katie, recently gave birth to their daughter, Eliza, in the family mini van at Center and Main streets.
Katie, 28, went into labor at the couple's home in Nova in the early morning hours of Nov. 24.
Abraham and Katie jumped into their van and headed for Samaritan Hospital. They made it as far as Third and Orange streets, where Abraham flashed his lights at a police cruiser in an attempt to pick up an escort.
At first, Officer Brian Evans didn't think much of it. It was about 3:10 a.m. and he was used to seeing newspaper delivery people making their rounds at that hour.
"Sometimes they flash their lights at me," he said.
Abraham stopped, got out of the van and announced that his wife was having a baby.
Evans was dumbfounded.
"I just stared at him," he said.
Evans planned to escort them to the hospital, but Eliza couldn't wait.
"We came to Second Street and I turned my (overhead) lights on to go around," Evans said. "I got through the intersection at Center and Main and saw him stop and get out of the driver's door."
Evans radioed for a squad and approached Katie, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
Evans can be heard on a recording of the radio call telling the dispatcher, "She's having it."
Seconds later, he came on the radio again and said, "She had it."
"She was just sitting there pushing and sure enough, here comes the baby," Evans said. "I don't have kids, so I've never seen anything like it."
Within seconds, Eliza started crying.
Dispatcher Sue Kelley told Evans to get his cell phone and she would coach him on how to handle the baby from that point. But his phone was in the cruiser and he didn't want to leave Katie's side. He borrowed Abraham's cell phone, but he wasn't familiar with the keypad layout.
Kelley began to coach him on the air as the squad was arriving.
The EMTs decided to keep Katie and Eliza in the warm van and one of the squad men drove it to the hospital.
"I thought it was very nice to let us stay inside the van," Katie said.
Eliza is the Dvorak's fourth child. She joins siblings Oren, 6; Zane, 4; and Ava, 2.
"They keep getting faster and faster," Katie said. "It was kind of a scary situation, but luckily everything came out OK."
n Irv Oslin can be reached at 419-281-0581 ext. 240 or at ioslin@ times-gazette.com.
