UTICA, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Utica police officer helped escort a young Sterling Heights couple that was racing to the hospital while actively in labor.
On the night of Oct. 17, Mary Weertz went into active labor one day before her due date. While prepared, she was caught off guard by the pain.
“I’m freaking out. I’m crying instantly, just balling my eyes out," Weertz said.
Her fiance, Austin Sadowski, quickly jumped into action and got Weertz in their truck, racing to the hospital. In the area of Hall Road and Van Dyke Avenue, Officer Liz Demuynck saw the erratic driving of the young, panicked couple making an illegal turn.
"I’m like 'oh my, God. We’re gonna get pulled over. Of course, we’re gonna get pulled over right now,'" Weertz said.
The couple went on the offensive and called dispatch to notify them why they were speeding. Dispatch recommended they slow down, so the officer could evaluate. Demuynck, who is a mother of two young children herself, quickly jumped into action and escorted the couple to Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital.
“Being a mom and being able to put yourself in her shoes of what you’ve gone through when you’ve delivered babies, it’s a very scary situation. Things can turn so fast," Demuynck said. “I think it just really made me go into go-mode — just get her there and get her safe.”
On body camera video, you can see Demuynck escorting the couple to the hospital, calming Weertz down and guiding them to the proper hospital entrance.
"Is this your first," Demuynck can be heard asking in the video.
“No, my second. But I had a C-section with the first one," Weertz responds in pain.
“OK, why don’t you just pull up here and at least they can assess you first." Demuynck says.
Watch the bodycam video below:
Weertz was evaluated and was hoping to deliver at her home hospital, Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, but her baby was in no shape to go any further.
“Once they got the monitors hooked up, not every contraction but more than they liked, his heart rate was dropping super low, so they were nervous about that," Weertz said.
Weertz delivered a healthy baby at 11:10 p.m. and was glad Demuynck helped them through the stressful time.
“She was our family hero," dad Austin Sadowski said.
The Utica police officer has stayed in touch with the family, meeting up with them and showering baby Henry with toys. The family is hoping for more babies after their wedding next year and says they'll know exactly who to call if anything goes wrong.
“They say they’ll always hold it with them, but I’ll hold it with me for my entire career," Demuynck said.
