Iowa woman delivers her own baby in speeding van

DES MOINES, IA -- A baby girl born four days early in Iowa gave her parents an early Christmas gift, and quite a scare! She was in such a hurry to enter the world, she couldn't wait for them to get to the hospital.

Jessika Thurman told KCCI that she woke up from a nap with contractions on Friday, and it was only 20 minutes later that she delivered her own baby, sitting in the front seat of a van.

"She was coming out and there was no stopping her."

Jessika's husband Danny called 911 as they were speeding down Interstate 80 toward a Des Moines hospital, hoping to meet an ambulance somewhere along the way. But it was too late.

"I just had to open up my sweatpants and just scooped her out," Jessika said.

Arielle Rose Thurman was born at 4:23 Friday afternoon in the passenger seat of the van.

"I just held her in my hands and just stared at her and I couldn't even say anything. I was completely speechless."

After the shock wore off, the new mother is fine and reports her baby is 100 percent healthy.