Maryland Police Officer's Roadside Assistance Helps Save 9-Day-Old Boy

Baby had trouble breathing

A police officer helped save an infant in dramatic fashion alongside a Montgomery County road early Monday morning after the child's parents pulled the officer over in a bit of role reversal.

Working the midnight shift in Silver Spring, Md., about 1 a.m., Officer Ben Crumlin saw a vehicle approaching him at a high rate of speed on Randolph Road near Hammonton Place, police said. The driver flashed his lights and honked his horn, and Officer Crumlin pulled over his cruiser.

“Patrol officers never know what they face when they encounter a speeding vehicle at one o’clock in the morning,” Cmdr. Don Johnson said. “It may be nothing more than a traffic violation or it could be a robbery that just occurred. In this case, Officer Crumlin was called upon to use his medical training to save a life.”

A 9-day-old boy in the vehicle was having trouble breathing, his parents told Crumlin. They were rushing to the hospital.

The officer determined the child wasn’t breathing at all, police said. Using CPR, Crumlin revived the baby, but he continued to have difficulty breathing.

"It felt like time was going slow," Crumlin said. "Once I heard a breath I got on the air, 'I need Fire/Rescue here ASAP. Make sure it’s a medic unit. I’m not trying to lose this battle.'"

Fire and Rescue responded and took the infant to a local hospital. He was released several hours later and is doing fine.

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“Officer Crumlin’s training and experience and his ability to act quickly made a difference in this child’s life,” Johnson said.

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