A truck driver from Oregon has been recognized for delivering a baby at a truck stop.
Danny Leon-Guerrero, a driver for Central Oregon Truck Company of Redmond, Oregon, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for delivering a baby at a Pilot Flying J truck stop in Oklahoma last year.
On June 10, 2016 around 3 p.m., Leon-Guerrero was at the Pilot Flying J in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He was on his way to the restaurant to get some ice cream when a woman ran out of the restroom screaming for someone to call 911. Her pregnant daughter’s water had broken. Leon-Guerrero told the woman that he was a volunteer firefighter and asked if he could come into the restroom and help.
When Leon-Guerrero entered the restroom he found a woman on the floor in labor, with her husband trying to help. He laid towels underneath the woman and told her to focus on him. The woman’s mother helped to encourage and coach her while Leon-Guerrero told her when to push. After only a few pushes she delivered a healthy baby girl.
“I’ve never delivered a baby before, but I have a lot of medical training and was glad I was in the right place at the right time,” said Leon-Guerrero.
Paramedics arrived shortly after the delivery and took the mom and baby to the hospital.
“I was on Cloud Nine the rest of the weekend,” he said. “I couldn’t believe that I just helped deliver a baby at the truck stop.”
When Leon-Guerrero is not driving a truck, he is a volunteer firefighter in Yreka, Oregon. He is no stranger to helping people while on the road.
“I’ve seen a lot of accidents over the years and have stopped to help as much as I can,” he said. “I go into a different frame of mind and do what I have to do to help.”
TCA presented Leon-Guerrero with a certificate, patch, lapel pin, and truck decals. Central Oregon Truck Company has also received a certificate acknowledging Leon-Guerrero as a Highway Angel.
EpicVue sponsors TCA’s Highway Angel program.