When a pregnant Elizabeth Lynch woke up at 4 a.m. today with strong contractions, she wasn’t sure there was time to make it the hospital. 
 
 “She was skeptical at that point … but we gave it a shot, and obviously we didn’t make it,” said her husband, Dan Lynch. 
 
 Instead Lynch, a captain with the Evanston Fire Department, pulled off of the Edens Expressway and assisted as his wife gave birth to their fifth child, Mary Margaret Lynch, in their car. 
 
 Daniel and Elizabeth Lynch with their new daughter, Mary Margaret. NorthShore University HealthSystem NorthShore University HealthSystem 
 
 Dan Lynch said his wife had started feeling strong contractions Thursday night and he had called his mother to come look after their other four children in their Edison Park home. 
 
 But then the contractions subsided, he said, so Elizabeth decided to rest for a while. 
 
 When she woke up and said she thought the baby was coming soon, the couple headed for the hospital but only got as far as the Touhy Avenue exit on the expressway. Dan Lynch called 911 and pulled over onto the shoulder. 
 
 “That was pretty much it. That baby was ready to go there,” said Dan Lynch, 32. “I opened the door for some light because it was pretty dark out. It was a good catch.” 
 
 He has never delivered a baby before but has had some training on it. 
 
 “I just focused on what I had to do, I guess,” he said. Baby and mother were taken to Evanston NorthShore Hospital. 
 
 “Me and my wife got very lucky, but everybody’s doing fine,” Lynch added. “It’s not the most ideal circumstances, but it turned out great. I’m glad to have my fifth child healthy. I have five healthy children now and we’ve decided not to have any more. So it was save the best story for last.” 

 Paramedic Delivers Own Baby on the Side of the Highway 
 
 Courtesy Daniel Lynch 
 
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 One of the many things Daniel Lynch learned while training to be a firefighter and paramedic was how to deliver a baby, but the closest he ever came was watching a doctor in a hospital perform the job.That all changed in dramatic fashion Friday. In a minivan on the side of an expressway, Lynch unexpectedly brought a newborn into the world – his own."It's the first time I did it myself," he told PEOPLE. In fact, apart from his other four children, he said he's never even seen a baby being born.It's not exactly how Lynch, 32, a captain with the Evanston, Illinois, fire department, and his wife, Elizabeth, 32, planned to welcome their new daughter.They knew the time was approaching, though, when Elizabeth, who was three days past her due date, started feeling intense contractions about midnight at their Chicago home. But the contractions suddenly stopped and she was able to fall asleep for a few hours.At about 4:25 a.m., though, she awoke with very intense contractions and she and her husband decided to get into their Honda Odyssey and head for Evanston Hospital, about 15 minutes away, leaving the other kids home with his mother.Elizabeth called ahead to her midwife and planned to meet her at the hospital, but just as Lynch got onto the Edens Expressway a few minutes from their home, Elizabeth knew she wouldn't make it."I told him to pull over," she told PEOPLE from her hospital bed.Lynch called 911, then ran to the passenger side and helped guide his new baby girl into the world. "The baby's head was already halfway out," he said. "I said, 'Push.' "A few minutes later, Mary Margaret Lynch made her debut, at 4:45 a.m., before police or firefighters had a chance to get there. The healthy girl weighed in at 8 lbs., 7 oz."Right away she cried," said Elizabeth, a former first-grade teacher who's now an at-home mom. "And all my fears were gone. I just trusted Dan though."Lynch wrapped his new bundle of joy in a blanket, then drove his wife and newborn the rest of the way to the hospital.In his eight years as a firefighter and paramedic, Lynch has been more used to fighting fires, tending patients experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath and trauma, saving people trapped in cars and helping out with water rescues from Lake Michigan. "You really really don't expect to deliver children," he said.Still, he and his fellow paramedics did learn a thing or two about delivering babies in class. "We paid attention," he said.Mary Margaret joins siblings Madeline, 6, Tommy, 5, Hank, 3 and Charlie, 18 months, who all were born in more traditional fashion in the hospital."It's our fifth," said the proud papa. "And last."Elizabeth agreed. "We went out," she said, "with a bang."
– Dan Lynch is a paramedic who had been through the births of his four kids, so when wife Elizabeth woke up early Friday with serious contractions "skeptical" that Baby No. 5 would hold out for the ride to the hospital, "we gave it a shot" anyway, says Dan. "And obviously we didn’t make it." Instead, the couple from Evanston, Ill., ended up pulled over on the shoulder of the road as Mary Margaret Lynch put in a rapid appearance with dad giving an assist. "The baby's head was already halfway out," he tells People. "I said, 'Push.'" He'd had some training on delivering babies, but it was the first time he'd ever assisted with a birth, and though he admits it wasn't "the most ideal circumstances," he's thankful that everyone is healthy. "I opened the door for some light because it was pretty dark out," he tells the Chicago Tribune. "It was a good catch." The Lynches say their family is now complete, and as dad says, "it was save the best story for last." (Earlier this year, an 8-year-old girl helped deliver her baby brother.)