A family headed to a San Francisco hospital on Saturday, September 19, instead found their trip interrupted by a standstill in Golden Gate Park. With labor underway and cars barely moving, they called 911 and pulled to the side. The people who answered the call were not only the ambulance crew and firefighters dispatched to the scene. A trained doula and other drivers already caught in the same traffic began helping, too. Three days later, the parents reunited with those helpers, turning a stressful afternoon into a chance to meet again.
The emergency call came at roughly 4:40 p.m. near Crossover Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, according to local reports describing the San Francisco Fire Department’s account. Karollyn Zepeda and Nate Geminiano were on their way to the hospital when traffic stopped. The congestion also made it difficult for emergency crews to reach them by vehicle. An American Medical Response ambulance had to stop about two blocks away, and responders continued on foot.
Among the people already in the traffic was Katie Higgins, a trained doula who was on her way to her child’s soccer game. After hearing that someone was in labor, she went to help. Higgins later described coaching Karollyn through the process. The family also credited her for helping while paramedics were making their way to them. Her training gave the parents a person with relevant experience at a moment when the route to the hospital had become impossible to continue.
Other drivers offered practical help as well. NBC Bay Area reported that Geminiano walked between cars looking for medical professionals. One person found a box of gloves, while a couple of women brought a large blanket to give Karollyn privacy. These small contributions were different from the specialized work of a doula or an emergency crew, but each addressed an immediate need. People who had been strangers in neighboring cars were suddenly sharing information and supplies.
The AMR ambulance team and San Francisco firefighters dispatched to the call faced the same gridlock. They realized their vehicles could not get close enough, so responders left them and continued on foot with equipment. NBC Bay Area described paramedic Brian Ingram working with a firefighter to move a gurney through the traffic, while another EMT remained with the ambulance. The crews adapted their approach to reach the family, coordinating with the people already there.
The fire department said Karollyn and the baby were taken to a hospital in good condition. The family later shared that they were grateful for the support from people caught in the same traffic, especially the doula who helped coach the birth. Their public account and the responders’ accounts describe an unexpected delivery in which medical training, emergency response and help from nearby drivers all mattered.
On September 22, the new parents met again with Higgins and the firefighters and AMR responders who had answered the call. NBC Bay Area covered the gathering, and ABC7 reported that responders received pink stork pins in recognition of their part in the day. It gave the family a chance to see the people whose paths had crossed with theirs during the stalled drive, this time with room to talk about what had happened.
The reunion did not erase the uncertainty of that afternoon, and it did not need to. It let the family and helpers acknowledge a chain of decisions: calling for help, listening for someone who knew what to do, offering a blanket or gloves, and finding another way through traffic. Each action was limited and practical. Together, they helped a family reach care and later gave the people involved a reason to gather again.
For the drivers who stopped to help, the day began as an ordinary trip through the park. For the parents, it became an unexpected start to family life. Their reunion a few days later linked those two experiences without turning the traffic jam into a fairy tale: neighbors and responders were present, each did what they could, and the mother and baby were reported in good condition. It is a clear example of a community taking shape around people who needed help.
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