JERSEY CITY, N.J. (WCBS 880) — A 14-year-old girl who had just given birth walked into a Jersey City, New Jersey restaurant on Wednesday and handed the newborn to a customer before leaving.
According to reports, the girl went up to the counter at El Patron, located on the corner of Linden Avenue and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, and claimed that she had found the infant.
The teenage mom then gave the baby girl, who was wrapped in a towel, to Alease Scott as she was eating lunch with her boyfriend.
"A young girl comes in and she says, 'I need help.' She was just so scared and all I saw was a child who just didn't know what to do," Scott said in a Facebook Live after the incident. "I immediately get up and I said, 'Well would you mind if I checked the baby's vitals?'"
Scott, who has experience working with kids as a former preschool teacher, said the baby had a pulse, but didn't seem to be moving.
Scott told WABC-TV that part of the umbilical cord was still attached to the newborn and the baby was having trouble breathing.
As Scott started CPR, the 14-year-old mother left. The newborn soon showed signs of life and started crying as police arrived.
"I was like 'Thank you Jesus' because her breathing was just labored. I was so happy that she cried," Scott said.
Police later found the teen and said both she and the baby are doing well.
The teen is not facing charges and the baby will be put up for adoption, WABC-TV reports.
Scott said she's glad she was in a position to help.
"So no, we're not new parents tonight, but we did dub ourselves godparents of baby Angel because that's what we named her," Scott said. "Hopefully I will see this baby again under better circumstances."
New Jersey's Safe Haven Infant Protection Act allows a person to bring a baby less than 30 days old to any hospital emergency room, police station, fire station, ambulance, first aid, and rescue squads that are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week without fear of arrest or prosecution.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram