Red Arrow driver helps deliver baby in bus bathroom in Lethbridge

Shawn Coulter has only been driving for Red Arrow for a little more than a month, but a high-intensity incident proved he's willing to go way beyond the call of duty.

Last month, Coulter was dropping off several passengers at the University of Lethbridge. 

As he pulled out from a traffic circle, a man roared up the aisle and frantically reached Coulter's side.

"Stop the bus! Call 911!" the man yelled. "My wife is giving birth in the back of your bus!"

Coulter quickly pulled over to the side of the road, slammed on the brakes and called emergency services.

"One of the first questions out of the operator, on that end, was, 'How far were the contractions apart?'" Coulter said.

Told by the woman's husband that contractions were around 10 minutes apart, Coulter relayed that information to the operator.

Moving toward the back of the bus, Coulter stood, phone in hand, while the man quickly opened the bathroom door.

"This poor dear lady, there she is, standing in the bathroom, and she's doubled over in pain with the contractions. I felt so bad for her," he said. "But as it turns out, those contractions weren't 10 minutes apart. They were closer to a minute apart."

Coulter said he thinks he heard the 911 operator gasp. 

"She said, 'Oh. Okay. Well, get her to lie down on her back and tell us what you see,'" Coulter said. "Well, we could see the umbilical cord and the top of the head, which was absolutely incredible. Amazing."

At that point, Coulter said the operator went straight into "paramedic 911 mode."

"She said, 'Alright. Do you have scissors? Do you have string? If you don't have string, you might have a shoelace that you can use. Get that going,'" Coulter said. "I tell you, I've never been more relieved to see sirens and lights as I had at that particular moment."

At that moment, paramedics, the fire department, and security from the University of Lethbridge all showed up.

I tell you, I've never been more relieved to see sirens and lights as I had at that particular moment.- Shawn Coulter, Red Arrow driver

"They all showed up at the perfect moment. What happened next was next to incredible," Coulter said. "The lead paramedic came right back to the lady going through labour. It was like he was a football player on Grey Cup Sunday.

"He's down on one knee. He's ready to accept that ball. He's like, 'Push, push, push!' That's when I went back to the front of the bus."

While the baby was being born, Coulter asked the other passengers if they could keep their focus on the front of the bus. He also cranked the heat, thinking it would make more sense for her to give birth in a warm environment.

"Next thing you know, the paramedics have this little bundled baby boy. I asked to take a look, and he was a handsome little guy," Coulter said. "I get a joke and a saying, but the first words out of my mouth were, 'Welcome aboard.'"

Jen McCallum, the baby's mother, said the family would never forget the story of their child's birth.

In honour of the child's unusual entry into the world, the family decided to name their baby Darius Arrow.

"I think it's a pretty wonderful story," Coulter said. "I'm just proud to have been part of it."