Unborn Baby Survives Mom's Death in Crash

L O U I S V I L L E, Ky., Dec. 20 -- A baby survived being torn from the wombin a traffic accident that killed his mother and was recoveringtoday at a hospital.

The baby — named Patrick, for the person who found him after thewreck Tuesday in southern Kentucky — was found next to his mother’s torn body with the umbilical cord still attached.

“For the way this baby came into the world, through thehardships this baby survived, it’s a miracle baby,” said JeffLanders, an emergency medical technician. “This child is going tobe special.”

Father Holds Baby’s Hand

Patrick’s mother, who was eight months pregnant, was thrownthrough the windshield of a tractor-trailer after his father, whowas driving, lost control and hit an embankment, police said.

The parents’ names were not immediately released.

The mother was caught under the truck and dragged a shortdistance before she was thrown loose. Then her head hit a culvertand she struck a sign, which severed her torso, police said.

The baby’s father suffered minor injuries.

Both father and son were taken to Russell County Hospital, wherethe father was able to hold his son’s hand briefly, Landers said.

“You could just see it in his eyes, the happiness but also thesadness,” Landers said of the father.

Patrick was upgraded from critical to fair condition todayand was being transferred to a hospital in Louisville.