A pregnant 24-year-old Flatbush woman gave birth to her second child on Tuesday — in the back seat of her cramped Nissan.
Crystal Cardona’s water broke at 9:45 am, and she, her brother, Eddie, and her 5-year-old daughter, Nelanie, ran out of their Chester Court home and jumped into Crystal’s Altima, headed to New York Methodist Hospital.
But Mother Nature had another plan: the car only made it nine blocks before the baby was ready to make its appearance, at the corner to Flatbush and Church avenues.
Luckily a nursing student who happened to be nearby was able to assist in the miracle.
Aionga Pereira was inside her home when she saw all the commotion outside of her window. The baby was already on its way to make her mark on the world and several people were standing around Cardona dumbfounded, not knowing what to do, and Pereira sprung into action.
“I never thought it was going to be me delivering the baby,” Pereira told reporters. “It’s an amazing experience to help bring a new life into this world.”
Letting her education take over, Pereira grabbed a towel and ran outside, ready to assist.
“All I kept thinking was, ‘Once the baby cries, I know the baby will be okay,’ ” she remembered. “The baby was coming, so I told [Cardona] ‘Don’t hold back. Push. Let the baby come.’ ”
Paramedics showed up mid-miracle, taking both mom and her healthy baby girl, who is yet to be named, to Methodist, in Park Slope.
“Both baby and mom are doing fine,” an FDNY spokesman said.
