Surveillance video at the Jersey City restaurant shows a 14-year-old girl who had just given birth walk inside, hand the baby over to a customer, and then leave. Thankfully, the woman knew exactly what to do to care for the minutes-old child. NBC New York’s Ida Siegal reports.
Shocking surveillance video from inside a Jersey City restaurant showed a teenage girl who had just given birth walk inside and hand her newborn child to a customer — then walk out the door.
El Patron restaurant owner Frankie Aguilar said that the 14-year-old girl looked stunned and visibly desperate, and he immediately knew something was wrong.
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“This lady comes in looking very desperate, holding a brand newborn child, you can even tell,” Aguilar said. “She comes in, she looks at me in the eye, I look at her and she has these eyes of terror and despair.”
Aguilar’s father called 911. Meanwhile, customer Alease Scott took one look at the situation and leaped into action.
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“The baby wasn’t really moving that much. (The mother) went to the counter, she said she needed help. I got up from the table, I immediately walked over to her and I said you mind if I check the baby’s vitals?” said Scott. “So she readily handed the baby over to me. I noticed the baby still had matter on it from being born, in the hair and the ears. It wasn’t cleaned off very properly.”
Scott is a former therapist and preschool teacher. She knew the baby was in distress — as was this young woman holding her.
“I looked down and saw that there was dried blood on her leg, and I immediately said ‘Oh my God, this is the baby’s mom,’” said Scott. “But I was more focused on making sure the baby was breathing, so as soon as I looked down at the baby she was gone.”
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Video shows the teenager standing near Scott and the minutes-old child, and then leave out the front door.
“She had also told me that the baby was abandoned, but with all of the things that we saw it seemed that she was the mother. So that’s the thing that was the most heartbreaking,” said Aguilar.
“I administered oxygen to the baby, within a couple of seconds her getting oxygen we got the most beautiful cry that you’ve ever heard. Her little feet started moving,” Scott said
Moments later, police arrived and took the baby girl to the hospital, where she is said to be doing fine. Police also instantly tracked down the teen mother, who is also now in the hospital and is also recovering.
As for Scott, she was just elated her CPR skills kicked in at the right moment.
“I would love to see her again. I would totally be her godmother. Totally be her godmother, putting that out there,” she said with a laugh.
