Deputy Rescues Florida Mom Who Crashed Car While in Labor

Aug. 14 -- The weeds obstructed most of the view of the canal at the side of State Road 715, but somehow Deputy Stephen Maxwell caught a glimpse of a head poking out of the foliage as he drove his Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office patrol car to start his shift in Pahokee.

Maxwell turned around and found a woman trying to get out of a mangled car, which was sitting in the canal. He asked if she was OK.

Kenyetta Biggs said her leg might be broken. Then she said her baby was in the car.

Maxwell assumed the baby would be in a car seat in the back. No, she said -- the baby was in the front.

"As I looked around her I saw the newborn baby laying in the passenger seat with the placenta and umbilical cord still attached," Maxwell said.

Another deputy arrived. Together, they pried open the door, which had been damaged in the accident. The deputies got Biggs out and placed the baby on Biggs' stomach. Another deputy cut the cord, then wrapped the baby in a gray blanket from Maxwell's car.

Paramedics arrived soon after and took Biggs and her baby to Glades General Hospital. They are both fine.

Maxwell, 44, downplayed the hero label, saying the handful of other deputies who responded to the scene deserve just as much credit.

Turns out Biggs, 21, hadn't told her family she was pregnant. She was driving to the hospital, and a strong contraction caused her to lose control of her father's car shortly after 5 a.m.

She gave birth alone, stuck in her car. Maxwell found her more than an hour later.

Kenneth Biggs, of Pahokee, said he figured his daughter didn't tell family members because she was afraid of their reaction. None of that matters now, he said.

"We are definitely welcoming this baby with open arms," said Biggs, still dazed from the day's events, 12 hours later.

It wasn't luck that Maxwell spotted his daughter, Biggs said.

"It's a blessing that he was where he was at the time," he said.

Kenyetta Biggs suffered a broken leg, but her baby, at 7 pounds, 12 ounces, is doing well. Her name is Myracle.

Nancy L. Othon can be reached at or 561-243-6633.

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