What began as a late-night hospital run turned into a life-changing moment for Calgary taxi driver Hardeep Singh Toor, who helped deliver a baby girl in the back seat of his cab during freezing winter conditions.Toor received an urgent dispatch call last Saturday night, the kind taxi drivers often get for emergencies. Toor was expecting a routine dash to the hospital, but he was stunned when he arrived to see a heavily pregnant woman being supported by her partner and in pain.“But I was shocked when I see them coming out. Like she’s pregnant lady and guy carrying her. And uh… she in bad pain,” Toor told Global News. Outside, temperatures had dropped to minus 23 degrees Celsius. A winter storm had made the roads icy and dangerous Toor described: “Minus 23 that day it was storm as well and the road was so slippery. The main priority to get them safely and quickly to hospital.”The destination was Peter Lougheed Centre, which is about a half-hour drive. Toor focused on how to navigate through the slick roads while trying to stay calm. But just blocks from the hospital, with the building already visible, events took a dramatic turn. The baby arrived before the cab reached the emergency entrance. “Before I got those lights. When I move up to this place then babies start crying. So after maybe 4 or 5 seconds. So then it was a big relief for me,” he said. When asked how long those seconds felt, Toor replied, “Oh yes, yeah.”As soon as he stopped, Toor alerted hospital security. “When I get there uh… I told the security guy like uh I need to go to ambulance access because baby is on my back seat.” Medical staff rushed out and took over care of the mother and newborn.The baby’s father was overwhelmed with joy, Toor said. Toor did not learn the child’s name, but he was told the baby girl was healthy.Toor was asked if this was the first time he had picked up two passengers and arrived with three. Toor laughed and said: “Oh this was the first time. This is the first time. And uh… this will be the best memory of my life.”
