It's a monumental day for anyone, but the birth of Zion Payton was especially unique. On Wednesday, D.C. firefighters got to meet the baby they helped deliver in the shadow of the Washington Monument.
Akela Crawford was driving with the baby's father, Ron Payton, to a hospital to deliver the baby when finally she told her doctor on the phone, "I don't think we're gonna make it."
The two pulled over next to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. As they spoke on the phone, a firefighter visiting from Round Rock, Texas, heard the commotion through the open window of the couple's Chevy Impala ran over to help.
Payton, remembered when the good Samaritan approached. "He was like, 'Hey, we heard you screaming, can we help?'"
"I was at the point where I wanted him to just do it," Payton recalled.
D.C. firefighters soon arrived on the scene and helped ensure baby Zion was okay. It was the first delivery that Juan Melton, a firefigher and EMT of five years, had helped with.
"It was beautiful... It was a new experience but with the training I was well-prepared," Melton said.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
The parents of Zion brought him to Engine 13 in Southwest Washington so Melton and others on the crew could meet the baby for the first time since he was delivered.
And the firefighter from Texas? He Skyped in for the moment, and can expect a Certificate of Commendation from D.C's fire chief in the mail.
