posted June 15, 2005 01:19 AM              

BANGKOK (June 9) - An 18-year-old Thai gave birth in the passenger seat of a Mercedes Benz which was doing 85 mph to try to get her to hospital in time, The Nation newspaper reported on Thursday.

Juthamas Srimongkol, who was only seven months pregnant when she went into labor on Wednesday, was rushed to hospital in her father-in-law's luxury sedan, but delivered a son 12 miles short of their destination, the newspaper said.

Mother-in-law Jimhaeng sae Iab, 47, leapt into the car's front seat when she heard a "splitting noise," but discovered she was too late.

"The baby had already come out. I held him and cleaned his body but could not cut his umbilical cord because we didn't have any equipment," she was quoted as saying.

Demonstrating remarkable calm behind the wheel, her husband offered soothing words throughout the high-speed ordeal in Khon Kaen in northeast Thailand.

"When the baby came out, he continued offering moral support to our daughter-in-law," Jimhiang said. "He kept telling us how much closer we were to getting to the hospital."

Doctors said both mother and baby, who weighed in at 4 lb, were safe although they would be kept in hospital for around two weeks.

06/09/05 00:24 ET

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