A birth to remember

Seriously, what would yesterday's flooding story have been without a woman going into labor while stuck in her car? That honor went to 33-year-old Matilda Ruewacaba, who delivered a healthy baby girl in the back seat of a Crown Victoria off the Gulf Freeway. Ruewacaba, her husband and their four kids were on their way to the hospital Monday morning when they hit high water, so they pulled over into a parking lot near Monroe lucked out: Nearby was a group of firefighters in training who were also stranded.

The cadets tended to Ruewacaba, searched for medical equipment and waited for an ambulance that was delayed by heavy traffic, but there was only so much they could do. "Getting the apparatus to the right place at the right time, it can be a challenge," HFD Capt. Matthew Faulkner told KTRK. After a couple hours in labor in the back of the Crown Vic, Ruewacaba was taken to a hospital, where she gave birth to 8 pound, 11 ounce Saria. Mother and baby are reportedly both doing well, and the HFD cadets could be recommended for an award, Faulkner said.