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Sussex County Dad Delivers Baby On Side Of Route 519

A Sussex County dad is reflecting on the desperate and adrenaline-filled moment he helped deliver his own child on the side of Route 519.

Gia Leo, 37, and Erion Adams, 44

Gia Leo, 37, and Erion Adams, 44

Photo Credit: Erion Adams Facebook

Coronavirus precautions changed the birth plan for Branchville's Gia Leo, 37, who birthed her first child with husband Erion Adams via Cesarean section, NJHerald reports.

Though Leo wanted a natural delivery, Adams, 44, got a call just two days prior to his wife's March 24 delivery date saying the couple would have to schedule a C-section due to the possibility of understaffing.

But Asher Jackson Adams had a plan of his own. 

Leo’s water broke around 2 a.m. March 23, the morning before her scheduled c-section.

After several hours of unrest, the couple headed to the hospital around 7:30 a.m. — but by that time, it was too late — or rather, Asher “The Dasher” was too early.

Adams was forced to pull over while approaching the intersection of Route 519 and Newton Avenue in Frankford.

“I pulled over on the side of the crossroads, I called 911, ran over to Leo’s front door, tried to open it and it was locked, so I went back around and unlocked it,” Adams told NJHerald.

Baby Asher was born at 7:47 a.m. after just “two pushes,” Adams said.

“Your whole world just stops,” said Leo about the intensity of the moment. “You are holding your baby and that is all you are focused on.”

Asher’s middle name, Jackson, is a tribute to Adams’ friend, Jack Goble, who died in a car accident in 1996.

“How strange that (Jack) lost his life in a car and we were able to bring the life of our baby into the world in a car,” he recalled.

The family is now safe at home and resting.

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