Woman Delivers Twin Girls in Parked Car

Maria Elena Flores got much more than she bargained for when she went to buy some party supplies Monday night: obstetrics duty.

Around 9 p.m., the Van Nuys woman helped Rosalina Ruiz deliver the second of her twin girls in a car outside the Northridge Pic ‘N’ Save in the 18400 block of Roscoe Boulevard. Ruiz, 25, and her daughters were later transported to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. The mother and babies were in good condition, said spokeswoman Vi Montes. One infant weighs 5 pounds, the other 6, she said.

Flores, 25, said she was leaving the store when Ruiz’s brother came in and said, “I need help. A lady’s having a baby in a car.”

By then Rosalina Ruiz had delivered one baby girl in the car by herself. Flores found Ruiz in labor in the front seat of the car. “[Rosalina] yelled, ‘There’s another one coming out,’ ” said Flores.

Flores told a bystander to call an ambulance. Then she saw the kicking feet of the second baby. “I told her to push, to breathe, to push,” she said.

Flores held Ruiz’s hips and helped bring out the second baby girl.

“I was just scared. I wanted to help her as much as I could,” she said. “I’m sure she felt helpless.”

In a few minutes, a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance arrived. Paramedics helped deliver the second baby, who had breathing complications, said Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells. The baby’s breathing was normal when she reached the hospital, he said.