What would you do if you came upon an accident and found an injured pregnant woman in her vehicle on the verge of delivering a baby? A woman from San Jose, California named Iria Wolnick wasted no time in lending a hand when she discovered such a scene on a rural Texas highway.
Yesterday, officials from Texas paid Iria a visit in California to honor her for her quick thinking and selfless actions as she stopped the family car, headed to a funeral, to lend a hand.
When she approached the accident scene, prominent on her mind was the fact that she and her family were headed to her own mother’s funeral and that thought was on her mind as she assisted in the delivery.
“It has changed my life for good,” she said of the delivery. “The baby will be in my thoughts forever…You get a new perspective on life.”
KTVU has more on the story:
In the crash, an 18-year-old male, a 19-year-old female and a 2-year-old had been ejected from their vehicle.
“She (the 19-year-old female) kept asking – ‘Ma’am how’s my baby? How’s my baby?” Wolnick said recalling the day. “I thought she was asking about the toddler, but then I looked down and saw her stomach.”
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There was large laceration on the woman’s stomach and an unborn child’s head and arm were sticking out.
Wolnick – who has four children of her own — knew she had to deliver the child or it would die.
“Four kids later, you sort of have an idea what needs to happen,” she said. “Making sure the umbilical cord is tied, preventing blood from coming out…keeping the baby warm…All those sort of things.”
After delivering the miracle baby, Wolnick was able to obtain a heartbeat and heard the baby cry just prior to EMS arriving.
“The adrenaline just kicks in and you just spring into action or panic,” she said. “I sprung into action.”
While the 6-pound, 11-ounce baby girl survived, the mother died a short time later in the hospital from complications.
“I’ve gotten a couple texts from the father,” she said. “But I’ve wanted to give him time to mourn.”
