Tiny Rider Joins BART

Baby Born On BART Platform

Riders on BART got quite a surprise at the San Leandro station Friday morning.

A woman gave birth to a baby on the station's platform at 7 a.m.

21 year old Jessica Bennett from Hayward was with her 2-year-old child when she started going into labor at the top of the escalator.

A station agent and a police officer helped her until paramedics showed up and took her to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.

The hospital says it was a baby girl, named Jayda and that she was 6 pounds and 2 ounces. Both are said to be doing well.

"They were trying to keep it as private as one can at a busy BART station," said Linton Johnson.

It wasn't such a surprise for Bennett, who was headed to the hospital to deliver the child, only to realize she wasn't going to make it all the way, and got off at the San Leandro station.

Jason Matthews, a firefighter from the Alameda County Fire Department, helped deliver the baby. "We told her to push, she pushed and out came the baby and we all had sighs of relief and smiles of joy," he said.

Today's birth was the third in the transit agency's history.

In July 1996, a baby was born aboard a train, and got free service for life!

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