Officer Saves Baby Who 'Was Not Breathing' After Seeing Car Run Red Light: 'He’s a Hero,' Says Dad
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"He helped me in what I would say was one of the scariest moments in my life," said the baby's dad
KOAT/Youtube
Officer Ismael Perez.A New Mexico State police officer is being praised for his heroics after he saved a newborn in need last month.
Officer Ismael Perez was on patrol in Deming around 10:45 p.m. local time on July 24 when he "received a frantic 911 call" stating that a mother had given birth in a car on the way to the hospital, according to the New Mexico State Police.
The NMSP shared body camera footage from the incident on Facebook, which showed Perez approaching the desperate family outside the hospital.
The baby, who was still attached to his mom via umbilical cord, "was not breathing," according to state police.
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Perez told ABC affiliate KOAT-TV that he “immediately started administering first aid” to the child, who began to cry after a few seconds.
"To me, in my eyes, he's a hero,” said Miguel Covarrubias, the baby's father, per KOAT-TV. “He helped me in what I would say was one of the scariest moments in my life."
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At the time, Covarrubias, 24, was rushing his pregnant wife to the hospital after she began experiencing contractions that evening, according to KOAT-TV and ABC News. But the baby didn’t wait for them to get there.
Perez, who saw their car run a red light, told KOAT-TV he intended to pull them over when he saw the family pull into the hospital. "I could hear over the radio they were mentioning something on the police radio about them needing an escort," he said.
Immediately, he jumped into action and began slapping the baby’s back while they waited for more help to arrive.
Perez said he saw doctors perform the same life-saving measures on his daughters, who were also born without crying.
“Go get the nurse!” Perez is heard saying in the body camera footage. “Tell them to hurry up.”
Eventually, the baby boy began to cry. "Come on mijo, breathe. Breathe. Breathe, mijo. Breathe," Perez said in the clip.
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Emergency room personnel arrived a short time later and began caring for both the mother and her child, named Miguel Jr., state police said. The two are in “excellent health” following the incident, they added.
"I was terrified. I didn't know what to do,” the father said, per ABC News. “And for him to jump into action the way he did and help me out, I just — just thank you.”
"It was like a sense of relief, you know, because I knew someone that knew what they were doing was helping," Covarrubias told KOAT-TV.
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