'We're gonna have to do this right here:' Cape Cod couple delivers their baby on highway

A Brewster couple gave birth to their daughter last week in true Cape Cod fashion: in the middle of traffic.

Rebecca Mahota and her husband Danya Mahota were heading from their home to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth on Aug. 8 to give birth to their daughter, Summer.

But as they made their way up Route 6, Summer had other plans.

"(Rebecca) starts screaming, and she's like, 'she's coming,'" Danya said. "I'm driving obviously, I reach down between my wife's legs, and, sure enough, I feel the top of my daughter's head."

The roadside delivery

Realizing what was happening, Danya pulled over on the highway behind some bushes for privacy.

"She goes, 'we're gonna have to do this right here,'" Danya said. "I said, 'Okay baby, well, let's just go slow and figure it out.'"

Danya, who has no medical experience, then delivered his daughter as his wife pushed her out in the passenger seat of their Land Rover.

Summer "started crying, and everything was great," Danya said. "My wife went through a checklist, like a Mercedes dealership, went through a 150 point inspection."

Rebecca said the experience went by so fast because she was running on adrenaline.

"That was probably the most nerve wracking, was making sure, okay, we're breathing, we're all here, we're good," Rebecca said. "And we kind of look at each other, we're like, that just happened."

A unique trip to Dunkin

After mom and baby were okay, the couple said they knew they had to move their car off the highway shoulder for safety and couldn't wait for an ambulance there.

So, the couple continued their journey, this time with an additional passenger. Eventually, they ended up in the parking lot of Dunkin' in Sagamore Beach, where paramedics and police officers arrived to bring Rebecca and Summer to the hospital via ambulance.

"They handed me a sterilized exacto knife, and I, like every Massachusetts father, cut my baby's umbilical cord in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot," Danya said.

After making it to the hospital, Rebecca and Summer were monitored for a couple of days before being released, but that's not where the highway saga ends.

Searching on Route 6

Danya and Rebecca both realized while in the hospital that they were missing a couple key items: Rebecca's phone and Danya's wedding ring, which had slipped off as Summer was being born.

While they were able to locate Rebecca's phone using GPS tracking, it took a lot more searching to find Danya's ring. With the help of a few friends, a metal detector and some investigation, Danya returned to Route 6 days later and found his ring.

"I found it about eight feet from where the phone was," Danya said. "Sure enough, coming around the back of the truck, it had fallen and slipped off my finger, because obviously my hands were a mess."

A show-stopping birth

Rebecca credited her husband for the safe delivery, which they recognize could have gone differently.

"The part of him being able to, fully maneuver her to where I didn't destroy my entire body and she came out safely is absolutely incredible," Rebecca said.

Despite the unique entrance into the world, the couple said they're grateful for Summer's health, and already have a nickname for her.

"She had a different plan to enter this world," Rebecca said. "I keep calling her the show stopper."

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: 'We're gonna have to do this right here:' Cape Cod couple delivers their baby on highway