Ontario parents of baby born on Hwy 407 receive gift of free highway travel

Woman gives birth on side of the highway An Ontario couple shares the dramatic story of giving birth on the side of a highway while on the way to the hospital.

TORONTO — An Ontario family is receiving a year of free travel on Highway 407 after a baby was born on the side of the popular roadway.

Troy and Erika Campbell were using a dashcam to record their journey to a Whitby hospital on May 17 when their video took an unexpected turn.

Suddenly Erika’s contractions began to occur more frequently. In the video, she can be heard saying that she needs to start pushing.

“You gotta push? What do you mean you gotta push?” her husband is heard saying.

The Campbells were driving on Highway 407 in Pickering, Ont. and were still just over 10 minutes away from the nearest hospital. At the direction of their midwife, Troy pulled over to the side of the road and called 911.

“I’m having a baby on the 407,” Erika is heard crying to the 911 dispatcher when they pick up the phone.

Troy rushes to his wife’s side of the car and after a brief moment, the couple’s third child is born. Soon after the birth, both Erika and the newborn were taken by ambulance to the hospital, where they were given a clean bill of health.

“It happened so fast,” Troy told CTV News Channel a few days later. “You go through so many emotions, you're scared, you're very excited, you're stressed, like all these sorts of emotions.”

On Friday, the company that manages the 407 Express Toll Route sent out a celebratory tweet congratulating the family on the birth of Nova Campbell.

The company said they will be giving the parents a year of free travel on the highway, as well as a gift certificate to offset the cost of car seats for the newborn and her siblings.

“Congrats to this beautiful family,” they tweeted.