On Monday afternoon, October 21, the official NYPD X platform account in New York City posted an article about a story involving a pregnant Chinese woman experiencing traffic congestion on her way to the hospital, and eventually making it to the hospital with the help of a Chinese-American police officer.
The Chinese woman, Sasha Cheng, had just attended her sister’s wedding earlier that day and hurried home with her husband, Daniel, when she started feeling some discomfort in her belly. Concerned, she called her doctor who advised her to quickly head to the hospital.
The couple drove from Bay Ridge to downtown Manhattan, but the journey was long and plagued with traffic, exacerbating Sasha’s discomfort into intense contractions. Daniel noticed Chinese-American police officer Joseph An parked on the shoulder of the Gowanus Expressway in the NYPD highway section.
Daniel quickly informed Officer An that his wife was in labor and in need of assistance. Officer An promptly activated his police lights on the roof of his car, began to sirens to pave the way, and directed Daniel to follow his police car.
Under police escort, the couple navigated through the traffic and arrived swiftly at the New York Presbyterian Hospital in downtown Manhattan, where Sasha was rushed into surgery. Approximately 20 minutes later, their baby boy was born, and they named him Royce.
The anesthesiologist and nurses mentioned that if Officer An hadn’t escorted the couple to the hospital, Sasha would have faced serious complications during childbirth needing general anesthesia and potentially severe consequences if the timing had been delayed.
Thanks to the timely escort by the police, the surgery was successful, and both Sasha and her newborn were in good health. Daniel’s extreme worry turned into immense gratitude towards the doctors, nurses, and the young police officer who escorted them.
The NYPD X platform account showed that Officer An visited the hospital with a greeting card and a stuffed toy to see the couple and their newborn, and also presented them with a badge from the NYPD highway patrol unit to commemorate this special journey.