JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after helping deliver a newborn who greeted the world just a bit early, News4Jax is speaking with the officer who happened to be in the right spot.
“It’s actually why I do this job,” said Officer Kristy Monroe. “I can’t explain it. It’s just a life-changing experience.”
Monroe was nearby when on Tuesday, Marie Peterson had to quickly pull over near Commonwealth and Edgewood avenues. Her granddaughter’s baby simply couldn’t wait to meet her mother.
Tyneshia Guider’s baby ended up being delivered in a parking lot! Monroe said it was a first -- she’d never helped deliver a baby before.
Now, she feels like she’s part of the family, and on Wednesday, Peterson surprised Monroe with a bouquet of flowers.
“I just wanted to thank you,” Peterson told Monroe. “Your character is above and beyond. You are truly our angel on Earth.”
Monroe was behind a nearby building and rushed to help.
“I was doing a traffic stop and a young lady stopped me and let me know that a young lady was having a baby in the backseat of her vehicle,” she explained.
Peterson, who has a medical background, asked the officer is she had ever delivered a baby.
“The answer was no,” Monroe admitted. “I’ve never delivered a baby. I’ve never had a baby. So, I just wanted to be calm and do whatever it is that I could to assist.”
Several minutes later after rescue crews arrived, Guider gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Admire.
“That experience pretty much changed me,” Monroe said. “I love it!”
The family asked Monroe to be the baby’s godmother -- a role she accepted without hesitation.
“I don’t have a whole bunch of family here, but I just realized that I just made new family members,” Monroe said.
Monroe believes she was meant to be in that parking lot for a reason, and she is grateful for the new family she made.