Freeway baby to celebrate first birthday with firefighters

Angelique Flores

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- Two Fountain Valley paramedics who delivered a boy on

the San Diego Freeway a year ago will help celebrate the child’s first

birthday.

The Fountain Valley Fire Department will allow Bill and Darcy Debernarde

to celebrate their son Bryce’s birthday Saturday afternoon at the fire

station. Although hosting a birthday party is rare, the department made

an exception this time, said Capt. Joe Cucinotti of the Fountain Valley

Fire Department.

Last Jan. 6, the expectant Debernardes set out from their Long Beach home

for Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.

“We made it to the Warner [Avenue] exit on the San Diego Freeway when I

asked my husband to pull over and call 911,” Darcy Debernardes said.

At about 12:45 a.m, her husband parked the car near the Warner exit and

called for help on his cellular phone. Two California Highway Patrol

officers arrived to find Darcy Debernardes with her feet up on the dash

board. Minutes later, two paramedics from the Fountain Valley Fire

Department arrived.

“When we stopped on the scene, the baby’s head was half delivered,” said

Bill Walker, a firefighter and paramedic with the department.

After seeing the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s head, Walker

called for assistance from his partner, Bryan McKay, who unwrapped it.

“The baby was brought into the world on the [San Diego] Freeway,” McKay

said.

Without the help of these men, the Debernardes believe their baby may not

have survived. After the safe delivery, the Debernardes were transported

to Orange Coast Memorial Hospital, where baby Bryce Warner -- whose

middle name was suggested by McKay and Walker -- was found to be in good

health.

“This was most unique,” Walker said.

It was Walker’s and McKay’s only baby delivery -- in a car, on the

freeway and with the cord wrapped around the baby’s neck.

“This is something I’ll always remember,” McKay said.

McKay and Walker, who have not seen Bryce for a year, are looking forward

to seeing the boy. The Debernardes want to celebrate their son’s birthday

while giving thanks to the men who saved his life. They also want to

thank AirTouch representative Ande Karllson, who fixed the couple’s

cellular phone earlier that day.

“We’re grateful to them all,” Darcy Debernardes said.

Because the Debernardes used their cellular phone to call for help, they

were given a Wireless Samaritan Award by the Cellular Telecommunications

Industry Assn. The award honors people who have used their cellular

phones to prevent a crime or make a dramatic rescue.