Witnesses reported that an expectant mother in labor was prevented from crossing a Los Angeles street Wednesday to get to a hospital until Obama’s presidential motorcade had passed.
The woman, who is unidentified, was held by authorities for 30 minutes until she could finally proceed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, according to TheBlaze.
“I felt bad for her,” witness Carrie Clifford told TheBlaze, adding:
It does happen when Obama comes to L.A. or I’m sure anywhere else. It paralyzes the city, it does make it complicated. You can’t do the things you had set out to do because the president is in town.
Many witnesses took to Twitter, including NBC Los Angeles anchor-reporter Robert Kovacik, who tweeted:
#Obama: Woman in labor on bench as motorcade passes; not allowed to cross street to get to #CedarsSinai. http://t.co/tv9N0hoccY
— Robert Kovacik (@RobertNBCLA) July 24, 2014
Click the Instagram link in the tweet above to watch a short clip of the woman waiting on a bench while the presidential motorcade passes.
According to theBlaze:
A spokesperson for the LAPD declined to comment on the incident early Thursday morning and referred TheBlaze to the Secret Service. A spokesperson for the Secret Service did not immediately return TheBlaze’s phone call.
In another Instagram video recorded by Kovacik, an LAPD sergeant is asked what will happen with the woman.
“As soon as we can — it looks like the motorcade is coming through right about now, so we’ll be able to open it up for traffic. The first thing we’ll try to get through will be an ambulance, but I can’t guarantee there will be —” The video ended at that point. Watch the clip here.
After the motorcade passed, Kovacik reported that according to a police officer at the scene, the woman made it to delivery OK, prompting a reply tweet that is probably the understatement of the day:
@RobertNBCLA I’m thinking that baby will not be named Barack!
— Jill Painter Lopez (@jillpainter) July 24, 2014
(h/t Twitchy)
