‘Right place, right time’: Teen couple surrenders newborn to store workers who helped deliver

A teenage couple in Plano, Texas handed their hour-old infant over to store employees Wednesday afternoon, saying they weren’t even aware they were expecting, CBS7 has reported.

Angela Owens, an employee at Hieline Mobility Solutions, shared with media that it was just another workday when a young boy walked in asking for medical help for his girlfriend and new baby.

Assuming it was a case of choking, Owens ran outside where the young girl was holding an infant wrapped in a towel. The baby was still attached by umbilical cord. Owens told CBS 7 she managed to remove the cord with the help of 911 over the phone.

Owens’ colleague Tabatha Peri stepped in to help the young couple, who doubled down on the fact that they were unaware of the pregnancy.

“There was no thought. It was like right place, right time. It was being a mother. We had to do what we had to do. There’s no other option at that point,” the two employees shared with media, both women having three of their own children at home. Owens and Peri added that they could tell the new parents, who appeared to be teenagers, were frightened and in shock.

Owens said that she told the couple to take the child to a Safe Haven spot so that it could be cared for properly. However, she felt that they might be unable to make it to a Safe Haven spot so she kept the child.

Under Texas’ Safe Haven Law, also known as the Baby Moses Law, any baby under 60 days old can be taken to any hospital, emergency medical services station or fire station in the state. The child must be handed to someone and not left outside. The law also states that anyone who leaves an unharmed infant at a Safe Haven location will not be prosecuted for abandonment or neglect.