Stork arrives early in Oak Park
Baby girl born inside family car
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers SPECIAL DELIVERY- Newborn Kaya Cummings is surrounded by her brother, parents and the firefighters and paramedics who helped deliver the baby somewhat sooner than expected.

Kaya Cummings greeted the world a little earlier than expected on Tuesday morning, April 22. The 7-pound, 14-ounce baby girl was delivered inside a car in Oak Park while her parents were making their way to the hospital.

The birth occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on Oak Forest Drive.

Kaya's parents, Clint and Curran Cummings of Moorpark, were en route to Kaiser Permanente hospital in Woodland Hills and stopped in Oak Park to drop off their young son, Calvin, at the home of a family member. That's when the baby decided to make her early appearance.

"There was no time to get to the hospital," said Woody Harward, a Ventura County Fire Department firefighter from Station 36 in Oak Park. Helping out were paramedics Morino Rudino and Mike Lovenne.

The family said they thought they had plenty of time when they left their home, but little Kaya had other plans. Delivery was made without complications and mother and daughter were transported to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks.

"This is unreal," said Curran Cummings, a special ed teacher at Lupin Hill Elementary School in Calabasas, as she prepared to leave the hospital yesterday with the newborn child in her arms.

Firefighters and paramedics who helped deliver the baby came to visit the family before they left the hospital.

"It's a beautiful thing," said Harward, who has delivered several babies under similar circumstances.

"The firefighters were fabulous, said Clint Cummings, a teacher at Agoura High School. "The smiles on their faces told the entire story."