'We are not going to make it': Johnston County man delivers baby boy at roundabout

A Johnston County couple welcomed a baby boy at the N.C. 42/N.C. 39 roundabout in Johnston County after the father was forced to deliver the child himself.

Jessica Wadell, who wasn't due for another two months, said she started having contractions out of the blue. So she asked her boyfriend, Keith Kettels, to take her to the hospital.

As the couple was on their way to the hospital, Wadell’s contractions starting to become more intense. Kettels was on the phone with 911 when he realized the baby was coming – now.

So he jumped into action.

"We are not going to make it," Kettels said. "She is going into labor."

He stopped the car in middle of traffic at a roundabout and got to work.

"[I told] her to lay back in the seat and pull your pants down," he said.

Wadell started pushing and gave birth to a baby boy. But he wasn't breathing.

Kettels dropped the phone and began life-saving measures. He tapped on his son's back and blew in his face. That's when baby Braxton finally took his first breath and cried for the first time.

Johnston County 911 Director Brett Renfrow said EMS thought the baby was dead because Kettels had dropped the call while delivering his son. Renfrow said Kettels stayed extremely calm throughout the whole ordeal.

The premature baby boy was born weighing two pounds. Braxton is now at the NICU at UNC Chapel Hill, where he will spend the next several weeks.

For his mom and dad, it’s a story they’ll never forget.

"I prayed to God," Kettels said. "Thank you for taking my hands and going to work."