Man meets stranger who helped deliver him along interstate 20 years later

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - It was quite a reunion in Gwinnett County. Yelsin Vasquez, now 20, met the stranger who helped bring him into this world. 

It was a July night in 1997, Suwanee Police Officer Elton Hassell will never forget it. He was driving home on Interstate 85 when traffic was backed up due to a motorcycle accident. Along the side of the road, Officer Hassell saw a man screaming next to a car. He looked inside the car and saw a woman in labor. The baby was on his way and wasn't waiting for traffic to clear.  

When the baby arrived, there was trouble. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.

"His face was blue, his lips were blue," said Officer Hassell.

Officer Hassell unwrapped the cord and said when he pinched the baby and heard him scream he knew everything would be okay. The paramedic told the Officer Hassell he saved the baby's life.

"He said good thing you were there because she was in shock, her husband were in shock. and he probably would not have survived" said Officer Hassell.

Yelsin now has a family of his own. His wife, Jennifer and their daughter, Chanel. Jennifer tracked down Officer Hassell who was a corrections officer at the time.

Jennifer said she just wanted to thank the man who saved her husband's life.

"He's not only my husband, he's my soul mate, my everything, and if he wasn't here I don't know where I would be," said Jennifer. 

Yelsin's mom, Maria, was also able to thank Officer Hassell. She said she feels like he's family like he's her son's second dad.