Baby Born During Fatal Bike Crash

Every woman who has ever had a baby knows what it is like in those last few weeks when you think about the impending trip to the hospital. Recaptured moments in movies where women have babies in cars, on the side of the road or in a petrol station car park because they just didn’t make it to the hospital in time. We plan and plan for the big moment, and are usually left with plenty of time to spare, but for one Chinese couple, their rush to get to the hospital not only cost them their lives, but gave their baby son a terribly sad but miraculous birth story.

The parents of Xiao Zhao were on their way to the hospital when tragedy struck. In a bid to get the hospital quicker and not have to wait for an ambulance, Xiao’s father, Mao, and mother, Wang, straddled their motorbike together and headed through traffic, eager to meet their new baby. Why anyone in the late stages of pregnancy and early stages of labour would consent to not only sit on a motorbike but ride one is questionable, however transport practices in China accommodate for the highly populated areas and congested motorways, so maybe she felt that this was the only option when it came to getting to a hospital to deliver her baby safely. The motorbike was hit by a truck and both parents were killed instantly.

Little Xiao Zhao was found nearly three metres from his mothers body. There is speculation and confusion as to how he was born in such an awkward and obviously not accommodating situation, with some eye witnesses saying his mother gave birth to him mere seconds after the truck had hit, and other saying the force of the impact somehow ‘pushed’ the baby out. The human body does miraculous things to cope with immense stress and family members confirm that Xiao’s mother was still pregnant when she left on the motorbike so it was not a case of the baby being born prior and being transported to the hospital. It has not been confirmed if the umbilical cord and placenta were still attached to mother or child, but witnesses report the baby being covered in blood and a possible torn umbilical cord being attached. Amazingly, none of the blood turned out to be Xiao Zhao’s and he suffered only minor grazes, cuts and bruising.

Xiao Zhao is now recovering in a Xiamen hospital and his extended family members are expected to care for him now his parents are gone. The truck driver responsible for the crash has been arrested.