
What does a new mom who has a baby on a busy Metro platform get from the transit agency? Well wishes, a hand-written note from the the boss, and a fare card worth $100.
That’s what Richard Sarles, the general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, sent over to Shavonnte Taylor, the 23-year-old woman who went into labor Thursday morning while riding a Green Line train and gave birth to a son on the platform at L’Enfant Plaza. Taylor stepped off Greenbelt-bound train about 10:30 a.m. exhibiting labor pains. She was accompanied by an off-duty emergency medical technician who called for medical assistance, but the baby would not wait.
Taylor’s son, Amir Mason, was born on the platform about 15 minutes later, after which the mother and child were transported to George Washington University Hospital. Both are resting comfortably, says Metro spokesman Philip Stewart. Amir weighs in at eight pounds, five ounces, and measures 54 centimeters, Stewart says.
“I am sure that the delivery did not go exactly as you imagined, but I hope that our employees and our customers who assisted you were a source of support and comfort,” Sarles wrote in his note to Taylor, which came with a $100 SmarTrip card.
As for the EMT who stepped in, Stewart says her name—or even the jurisdiction she works for—are still unknown.