Baby Delivery On I-66 Aided By Prince William Co. 911 Operator

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — On the morning of Jan. 30, Brandon Taylor was driving with his wife, Joan Taylor, who was in labor, along with their 3-year-old son, Theo. They had been driving from Catlett on Interstate 66 to Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax when the baby started crowning.

At 6:21 a.m., Brandon Taylor called 911 for help. Two minutes later, a 911 operator in Prince William County helped them safely deliver the baby. The family welcomed a girl named Audrey Taylor during the delivery on I-66 in Prince William County.

Afnan Abdelhafez, a call taker with the Prince William Department of Public Safety Communications, is being hailed for her quick assistance to the family. She received a stork pin, a recognition for helping to deliver babies. This was her second stork pin, which the county says is a rarity for call takers.

"It was really exciting," said Abdelhafez via a county news release. "I just figured it was going to be a normal interstate highway call, but as soon as I heard, ‘My wife’s having a baby,’ I just wanted to make sure I got the location and make sure the medics got there as soon as possible."

Joan Taylor, said Abdelhafez helped reassure the mother during the delivery.

“She definitely helped keep us calm. Knowing that someone was there to help us and make sure that there were people on the way and make sure that everything was going to be OK was incredibly reassuring," said Taylor.

As the baby was delivered, Abdelhafez was concerned that the baby was not crying. She gave emergency medical instructions to the father to rub the infant's foot.

"When the baby started crying, I knew it was all good," said Abdelhafez.

Not long after the delivery, Prince William County firefighters and EMS arrived to help.

“Technician [Richard] Mitchell with the 522 crew did an amazing job with making sure that we were OK; and Lt. [Luke] DeAtley took the time to go find my husband, bring him over and have him cut the cord so my husband could still have that moment before we were loaded up onto the medic truck," said Taylor. "That was really, really important to us. The firefighters were all happy to be there, and it made it so that I knew that it wasn’t a scary, bad situation."

Capt. Richie Scott was also credited with helping keep the 3-year-old Theo calm.

"When it came time for me to get out of the car, he covered my son’s eyes so that way my son wouldn’t see anything," Taylor said. "As I was getting into the ambulance, I was able to wave bye to my son. As a mother, that’s huge to me. I feel like that saved my son a lot of potential trauma."

Abdelhafez received the stork pin from County Executive Chris Shorter, Deputy County Executive Dan Alexander, Fire and Rescue Chief Tom LaBelle and Assistant Director for Systems for Public Safety Communications Jared Juliano. This was the first time the county executive has presented this award, and he gave credit to the 911 call takers and Prince William County Fire and Rescue.

"Our 9-1-1 call takers are extraordinary in the face of emergencies and under pressure, and they are often the first response in times of crises," said Shorter. "Bringing a new life into the world in a unique situation where the whole family is cared for, from the moment the call goes through until the family is safely at the hospital, shows true compassion and dedication."