Toronto baby born in backseat of taxi en route to hospital

Vernon Warnor is seen standing beside his Beck Taxi in Toronto (Supplied).

A Toronto taxi driver’s cab became a makeshift delivery room on Friday.

Vernon Warnor was five minutes into his shift when he received his first call of the day. It was just past 6 a.m. and the city was cloaked in a light blanket of flurries.

“All I had was an address for pickup but I didn't have the destination where I was going to drop off,” Warnor said. When he saw a mother and daughter with a suitcase in hand, he assumed they were heading to the airport.

“But when I got closer I realized she was pregnant,” he said.

Warnor hoisted a car seat into his taxi, buckled up the girl of about four years old and then returned to help her mother.

“At that point in time, a red flag was up because I also needed to help the mom in the car because she was in pain,” he said.

The customer directed him to a hospital downtown. From their current location in Scarborough, Warnor’s GPS estimated a 38-minute drive.

“About five minutes into the drive, she told me that her water had broken. At that time, I’m thinking that the destination might be too long,” Warnor said.

They were already on Highway 401 when he pivoted their route and took the next exit. At first, he aimed for the closest hospital, Scarborough General, but the baby had other plans.

“The baby started to make its way,” Warnor said. “I decided to abandon Scarborough General, so I pulled into a gas station and I called 911.”

Once parked, he jumped into the backseat and grabbed a towel and blanket. He stayed on the phone with emergency personnel and called his dispatcher while the mother delivered her own baby.

“By the time the emergency vehicle showed up, the baby was born.”

Beck Taxi said in a social media post on Friday that the mother and baby are doing well and that the company has plans in store to thank Warnor for his heroic actions.

“My top priority was to make sure the mother and child were safe. I feel like I was at the right place at the right time. If it occurred tomorrow morning, I would be willing to jump into action just the same.”