A quiet stretch of County Road 51 in Eastport briefly turned into a delivery room just after 4 a.m. Tuesday, when a 22-year-old Riverhead woman gave birth to a baby girl in a Nissan Pathfinder parked on the shoulder of the southbound lanes. Seventh Precinct Officer Amanda Brisson helped the mother get ready to deliver in the SUV, and East Moriches Rescue paramedic Steven Diamantopoulos and EMT Ben Cohen then handled the birth itself. Mother and baby were taken by ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital, where both were reported to be in good condition.
How the delivery unfolded
According to Suffolk County Police, a 911 call came in at 4:13 a.m. about a woman in active labor in the passenger seat of the SUV. Officer Brisson arrived first, then East Moriches Rescue personnel pulled up and took over medical care. Paramedic Steven Diamantopoulos and EMT Ben Cohen completed the delivery right there in the vehicle, after which medics transported the new mom and newborn to the hospital for evaluation. This account was shared with local reporters and covered by Daily Voice.
Not the first time officers have helped deliver babies
Suffolk County Police have logged other on-scene births this year. In a February press release, the department detailed a Stony Brook incident where an officer helped paramedics deliver a baby boy before both mother and child were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital in good condition. The notice described how Sixth Precinct officers and local ambulance crews teamed up on that call, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
Other recent Long Island calls
The Eastport roadside delivery follows a February call in Nassau County where Third Precinct officers and Nassau County medics delivered a baby girl inside a Westbury home, cut the umbilical cord and then brought both to a hospital in stable condition. That earlier incident was reported by Daily Voice. For local police and EMS, the Eastport birth is being chalked up as another textbook case of first responders stepping in when labor outruns the drive to the maternity ward.
