MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — A Morristown tow truck driver responded to a flat tire call and ended up in labor and delivery after his customer's water broke.
As a tow truck driver at Sunset Towing, Ray Proctor is in the business of helping people. He's only been on the job for six months, but no call compares to the one he got on January 17.
"I thought it was gonna be a normal call, nothing, no big deal, just a regular tire change, but it wasn't-- It wasn't no normal call," Proctor said.
He said it was around 10 p.m. when the call came in. It was five minutes from his station, so he sped over and changed Emily Watkins' tire.
Right after he fixed the flat on the side of the road and started loading up his tools, Watkins said her water just broke.
He told her to hop in his passenger seat and he would get her to the hospital, which wasn't very far away.
Once they got there, Proctor dropped her off, parked, and went to be with her inside. In the meantime, Watkins couldn't reach her husband. He was working in Knoxville.
"So for about 30 minutes, I was trying to get a hold of her husband and finally I did," Proctor nodded. "I told her husband I would stay with her until he got there."
Proctor waited close to two hours while Watkins' husband raced to Morristown. When her husband got there, Ray left and the baby boy was born.
They named him David Ray Watkins. They wanted to pay tribute to the tow truck driver who changed a flat and delivered Emily to the hospital.
Watkins said she wants her baby to grow up to be a good Samaritan just like Proctor. Watkins and Proctor still stay in touch and are planning to get together at a family reunion soon so Proctor can meet little David Ray.