Consider it a Christmas miracle.
Two Philadelphia transit cops hoping for a quiet Christmas night got nothing of the sort, considering that by the end of their shift, they had helped deliver a baby on a subway train.
SEPTA Police Sgt. Daniel Caban and Officer Darrell James got a call around 5:50 p.m. that a mother-to-be was experiencing pain. By the time the two officers arrived, they could see the head of the baby through the expectant mother’s sweatpants, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
According to the newspaper, several riders formed a semicircle around the parents-to-be and the officers for privacy and protection.
"Get your gloves ready," Caban told James, the Inquirer reports.
Caban then guided the baby into the world and even removed the umbilical cord from around the baby's neck. The officers wrapped the newborn in a sweater and handed him over to the mom. A minute later, paramedics arrived and took the new family away as onlookers knocked on the subway-train windows to give the officers the thumbs-up.
"It was the best Christmas gift that I would ever be able to ask for," James said. "Having a kid born on Christmas, but also being able to help a family."
Read more at the Philadelphia Inquirer.