A Tyngsborough Police Officer Relieved the Father as a Baby Boy Was Born in the Car on Kendall Road

Tyngsborough Police Chief Shaun Woods said he was proud of how Officer Olivia King Stark and Communications Specialist Kimberly Desmarais handled a 911 call in which a baby boy was born in a car on Kendall Road. The department’s account of the night was reported by JGPR and posted on the Tyngsborough Police Department’s website.

The baby arrived healthy and crying, the department said. His mother and the newborn were taken to Lowell General Hospital for evaluation.

A Call at 8:55 P.M. and a Father Who Handed Over

The 911 call came in at about 8:55 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, from Kendall Road near Cummings Road, according to the department. The caller reported that a woman was in labor. The family involved is from Dunstable, per the release.

Desmarais answered. She sent Tyngsborough Police and Fire to the scene, then gave the caller emergency medical dispatch instructions to help the mother until crews arrived. That means a dispatcher stays on the line and talks a caller through the next steps, instead of simply sending help and hanging up.

Massachusetts runs that system through the State 911 Department, which says it oversees and maintains the statewide 9-1-1 system for emergency services. Its page asks residents to call 911 if they can and text 911 if they cannot.

King Stark was the first responder on scene. She took over from the baby’s father and gave the mother medical and emotional support, the department said. The baby boy was born in the vehicle and began crying.

What the Department Said About the Two Women

Sgt. Nate Abdallah praised both employees in the department’s account. He said King Stark remained calm, composed and reassuring throughout the incident, and he described her actions as showing exceptional compassion, professionalism and composure during an unexpected emergency. He also credited Desmarais for managing the call, giving critical instructions and coordinating resources.

Chief Woods said Olivia and Kim put their training to use when this family needed them. He thanked the officers, communications staff and fire personnel from both towns, and said the department was glad the mother and baby received the care they needed.

The department is based at 20 Westford Road, according to its website, and the town’s fire department page lists its station at 26 Kendall Road, the same road where the birth took place. Once firefighters arrived, they took over medical care. Tyngsborough and Westford fire personnel then helped transport the mother and baby to Lowell General.

The department’s account does not give the family’s names, the baby’s weight or the mother’s condition beyond the evaluation at the hospital, and none of those details are reported here.

The town’s fire department page lists 911 as its emergency number, with a separate business line, and links to a Smart 911 registration form. The police department’s site gives the same emergency number, with a separate confidential tip line.

The police site lists 20 Westford Road as the department’s address. Its recent posts include the Oct. 26 account of the Kendall Road birth, along with Halloween safety tips issued Oct. 30 ahead of trick-or-treating from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Why Births Like This Fall to Whoever Arrives First

Births before a hospital are unusual for emergency crews. A clinical review from the National Library of Medicine, EMS Prehospital Deliveries in StatPearls, calls them rare for EMS practitioners and says hospital transport is preferred, though delivery may happen on scene or on the way.

The same review lays out what responders do for a newborn in the first minutes. It describes gently clearing the mouth and nose, drying and rubbing the infant within the first 60 seconds to stimulate breathing, and wrapping the baby in a warm, dry towel or using skin-to-skin contact on the mother. About 10 percent of infants need extra stimulation, such as rubbing the back, and about 1 percent need CPR beyond routine warming, drying and stimulation, it says.

The review adds that the cord is usually left unclamped until pulsation stops, typically 30 to 60 seconds, unless the baby needs immediate CPR. The placenta usually delivers 5 to 15 minutes after birth and can take up to 30. It should never be pulled on by the cord, and if it has not come within 30 minutes the mother needs obstetric care.

The review also describes how crews judge a newborn afterward. They assess heart rate, breathing, color, tone and reflex irritability about 30 to 60 seconds after birth and again at 5 and 10 minutes. A normal newborn heart rate is at least 100 beats per minute, and a normal breathing rate is 40 to 60 breaths per minute, it says. It adds that unplanned births outside a hospital are linked to higher risks for both mother and baby, which is part of why transport to a hospital is the goal once the baby has arrived.

The review is general background on how crews handle these births, not an account of what happened in Tyngsborough. The department did not describe those steps in its release. It said that King Stark supported the mother medically and emotionally until firefighters took over, and that Desmarais gave the caller emergency medical dispatch instructions until crews arrived.

For Tyngsborough, the night ended with a healthy baby, a mother taken in for evaluation and two employees the chief thanked by their first names.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: John Phelan – CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons