Man Delivers Wife's Baby at Romeoville Gas Station

When a baby’s on the way, there’s no stopping it. That’s what one Minooka man learned when he was driving his wife to the hospital when she was in labor Sunday morning.

Alan and Andrea Monzon were on their way to Edward Hospital, but they knew they weren’t going to make it, so they got off at the Shell gas station on Weber Road and Parkview Drive in Romeoville.

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From there, they called OnStar, which sent police and an ambulance, but that’s not the only thing it provided. The 24-hour roadside assistance service also helped Alan deliver his child, a six-pound, seven-ounce, 20-inch baby boy.

“The next thing you know, my wife was crowning,” Monzon said, who placed his wife on a patch of grass outside the gas station to make her comfortable. “It was shocking. It was something you see on TV. It was really intense. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.”

With no epidural or painkillers, Andrea had to go through natural labor, which Alan said she pulled off like a champ.

“She was trying to concentrate on not passing out while giving birth,” Monzon said.

Andrea’s mother and the Monzon’s four-year-old son were also there at the time.

“When the shoulders came out, I wrapped the baby and put him in a nice, clean blanket,” Monzon said, which he already had in the vehicle. “I spanked his bottom and he started crying.”

He cleared the fluid from the baby’s mouth and nose and then had to take care of the umbilical cord, which OnStar gave him directions on how to do.

“From there, OnStar told me to tie the umbilical cord six inches away from the baby, so I took my shoelace from my shoe and tied the umbilical cord,” Monzon said.

By then, the first officer arrived on scene. According to Monzon, the officer thought Andrea hadn’t given birth yet, but they informed him that she had already done so.

The ambulance then arrived to take Andrea and her son, Vincent Webber, so named because of the street he was born on, but with an additional b, to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital. They are both doing well.

OnStar spokesperson Brian Corbett said that this is not the first time the business has helped someone deliver a baby.

“Our emergency response button is basically 911,” Corbett said. “They’re educated, trained advisers.”

Romeoville Police Commander John Ferdinardo said that he’s been with the force 25 years and this is the first time he’s heard of this happening.

For Alan, he’s just happy that everything worked out and everyone is doing well.

“They checked out fine,” Mozon said. “Everything worked out great.”