Weather 
An emergency delivery turned into an unforgettable story for an Orange County family when a pregnant mother, who believed she still had weeks to go, gave birth to her baby boy in the back of a moving ambulance on a freeway in Orange County.
Yesenia Avila was 38 weeks pregnant with her second child and a doctor’s appointment the day prior had given her no indication that her son would arrive so soon.
“It felt like a movie. It was just so fast,” Avila said.
But before 9 a.m., shortly after stepping out of a hot shower, Avila felt a sudden change.
“I was gonna get out of the hot shower and I just felt like a big drop, like a sensation,” she said.
With her husband, Daniel Diaz, at work, Avila’s sister-in-law rushed her into the car and they started driving to the hospital. But as contractions quickly intensified, and as they encountered rush hour traffic, it became clear they would not make it in time.
“My sister-in-law is in labor,” she said in a 911 call. “Her conditions went from five minutes apart to three minutes apart. I don’t think we’re gonna be able to make it.”
They were on the side of the 22 freeway. Emergency crews from the Orange County Fire Authority responded.
“Seeing where it was located, definitely starts raising some concerns,” said Greg Williams, a fire captain paramedics with OCFA.
Despite heavy traffic, Williams and his team reached Avila and put her into an ambulance. Within moments, the baby was coming.
“Thank goodness for our excellent dispatching. They were guiding us,” Williams said. “When I got her in the back of the ambulance, she stated ‘I feel the urge to push’, which for me is an indicator that it’s time.”
Avila was shocked and scared.
“I was like no I called you just to escort me to the hospital. Try to get there. We can make it. And he’s like no the baby’s coming,” Avila recalled.
Minutes later, her son Emeric was born into the moving ambulance.
Diaz, who was rushing to the hospital from work, got the call.
“I was driving and I get the call. It’s just like, you know what, just take it easy. The baby’s here. I was like what? I missed the whole delivery? I’m sorry. And she’s like no it’s fine, he’s healthy,” Diaz said.
In the weeks that followed, the family searched for the paramedic listed on their son’s birth certificate. They wanted to thank him in person.
On Tuesday, as baby Emeric donned a firefighter t-shirt and red fire truck socks, the family reunited with Williams at an OCFA station in Garden Grove.
“I just wanted to thank him because it meant a lot to me,” Avila said.
For Williams, the reunion meant just as much, saying the experience stood out among the many calls he responds to.
“We see a lot of the other side of things, so to see life, to see a baby being born, it’s something to celebrate for sure,” Williams said.
© 2026 Television,
