MESA — A Valley couple and the 911 dispatcher who helped deliver their baby met face-to-face Friday.
Daniel and Nicole Emery were on their way to the hospital when they realized they needed to pull over immediately.
Daniel called 911 while on the Power Road off-ramp of Loop 202 in Mesa.
"He's just like, 'What do you see?' And I was just like, 'I don't know what I see," said Daniel.
Jayden Valentine from Mesa Regional Dispatch Center was able to calm down Dad and gave him instructions every step of the way.
"'You got to catch the baby, make sure he comes out and when he does come out, you're holding onto him. So, get into position to do that,'" Daniel recalled.
It was a six-minute phone call from start to finish, ending with the delivery of a seven-pound, 14-ounce healthy baby boy.
"Baby's out, baby's crying. I knew he was keeping an eye on the breathing, the biggest part. Then one of the last things I can remember is DPS arriving in the background, just making sure that was them there and him telling them, 'We just had a baby on the freeway,'" said Valentine.
That's the only thing Nicole can remember from that night.
"I was just, like, in shock. I just kept thinking... I can't believe I'm having a car baby right now," said Nicole.
Baby Cooper is now nearly three weeks old and is the third boy in their family.
Soon, Valentine will become a father too, which he says he is much better prepared for.
"When you're there for the birthing of their child, it's almost as if you were there with them. So, you kind of have this strange bond now. Even if you don't see them again, you'll always remember them," said Valentine.
