Texas man navigates traffic while filming wife giving birth

By: 9 years ago

FILE - In this Monday, April 20, 2015 file photo, traffic travels along the Pierce Elevated of I-45, in Houston. Texas transportation officials on Thursday, April 23 unveiled a plan to reconfigure the major interstate through downtown Houston that would place lanes underground, alleviate congestion that's agitated commuters for years and give the city a dramatic face lift. A slight majority of Americans prefer living in a single-family house in the suburbs or a rural area with more land, even if it means driving long distances to get to work or just run errands, according to an April 23-27, 2015 poll by The Associated Press-GfK. (Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle via AP)

In this April 20, 2015 file photo, traffic travels along the Pierce Elevated of I-45, in Houston. AP

HOUSTON, United States — Video shows a Houston-area man filming his wife giving birth to their 10-pound (4.5-kilogram) baby son next to him as he drives through traffic in an unsuccessful effort to reach a birthing center in time.

Jonathan and Lesia Pettijohn were stuck in traffic for more than an hour this week when her water broke, forcing her to self-deliver their newborn son, Josiah.

Jonathan Pettijohn told KHOU-TV in Houston that they didn’t pull over because there was no apparent danger to his wife or the baby.

The roughly four-minute video shows him calmly instructing his wife while she screams, “It’s coming out! It’s coming out!”

After the birth, he says, “We did it! High-five, babe!”

Birthing center staffers were surprised to find Josiah already in hand when the couple arrived.