Man Gets Speeding Ticket for Rushing Wife in Labor to Hospital

Jan. 6, 2011 — -- John Coughlin put the pedal to the medal and rushed his pregnant wife to the hospital, arriving with only six minutes to spare before his son was born. In addition to bringing their newborn home, the new father also got a speeding ticket.

"[The officer] said, 'Congratulations on your son, and the bad news is that I am going to have to see you in court,'" Coughlin recalled.

John and Angela Coughlin were en route to the Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., in the early morning of Sept. 18 when a state trooper pulled out from a rest-stop area and began following the Coughlins. John Coughlin said his wife's water had broken during the drive to the hospital, so he made his family's safety his first priority and sped to the emergency room.

"I knew I just had to get them to safety and I knew I could make it to the hospital," he said on "Good Morning America" today.

Coughlin called 911 so police would not think that he was trying to outrun an officer.

"My wife's in labor. Her water just broke. I'm just on my way to the hospital," he can be heard on a recording telling a 911 dispatcher as his wife screamed in the background in agony.

"I knew that he was trying to pull me over so I thought the best thing to do was call 911 and let them know that I was going this fast for a reason," he said.

The officer drove in front of the Coughlins and guided them safely to the emergency room.

"911 got in touch with him [the trooper], he escorted me the rest of the way to the hospital and then waited in the emergency room while we gave birth and then handed me the ticket," Coughlin said.