A Maryland State Police trooper responded to an unusual request for assistance yesterday afternoon: a woman in labor on Interstate 95.

According to a combination news release and birth announcement, Trooper T.R. Robinson of the JFK Highway barracks in Perryville found the woman, Dontrace Ballou of Havre de Grace, had given birth to a baby girl just before 5 p.m.

Ballou's husband had been driving her south on I-95 to a hospital with their young son when Ballou realized the baby would not wait for them to reach their destination, according to the release.

The husband pulled the 2006 Saab over to the shoulder near the Edgewood exit. Robinson arrived and stayed with the mother and new baby until paramedics took them to the hospital.

The girl, who weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, was healthy, according to the release.