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Uber Driver Helps Woman Deliver A Baby In His Cab En Route To The Hospital

Uber Driver Helps Woman Deliver A Baby In His Cab En Route To The Hospital
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For driver Shahnawaz Khan, yesterday was proving to be just another day of ferrying people across the Capital. But it was not to be. Instead, the driver ended up making quite the literal delivery — a moment that will probably remain etched in his memory forever.

Khan, who works for the taxi service Uber, happened to be cruising past Select City Walk mall, Saket, when he received a request for a cab to pick up a client from Deoli Village in Sainik Farms at approximately 8 pm. He initially thought of declining, but, upon hearing that the client had to be dropped to a hospital, decided to make the trip.

“Some guy called Sanjay had made the call, but upon reaching there [at 9 pm], I found a lady — Babli, who was heavily pregnant — waiting for me,” he said in an interview with HuffPost India. “On asking her, she explained that the cab had been organised for her through her husband’s acquaintance (Sanjay) who also ran a small car service, but couldn’t spare any cars.”

Uber driver Shahnawaz Khan

Babli’s husband Raj Kumar, a labourer, had recently met with an accident, so her aunt and a neighbour decided to accompany her to Safdarjung Hospital. When they left, however, Babli started showing signs of discomfort. “I called Sanjay, and told him he should have booked an ambulance, not a cab,” recalled Khan. “But he said that an ambulance would have never reached in time.” HuffPost India also reached out to Raj Kumar, who seconded Khan’s statement.

En route to the hospital, somewhere near Ansal Plaza at a traffic signal, Babli suddenly cried that the baby was coming. A bemused Khan initially didn’t know what to do, but quickly reached out for towels, and whatever clothing he had stored in the back of his car to help the birth, and then stood guard.

Miraculously, before the traffic signal could change, the baby was born. “It just goes to show how long the traffic signals are at Delhi,” joked Khan. Instead of wasting time, the driver quickly escorted mother, and child to the hospital.

The Uber baby with mother Babli are doing well

Once there, he didn’t consider his duty complete. He got a stretcher, helped the mother onto it, and then wheeled her inside the hospital. “The doctors thought I was her husband, and were shocked to hear I was the driver,” he said. They also complimented his quick action: “the mother and her baby could have been at risk, but all of that was eliminated because we were fast.”

The young driver, who is married with a child, was as elated as the family to be a part of the entire experience, and wanted nothing for his help. “I am very happy. There’s nothing better than this. After all, money is not everything in the world,” he said.

Kumar reported that both mother and child were doing well. “We couldn’t be more grateful,” said the happy father. “We have called him over to celebrate and express our love,” he said.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.