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Couple In Labor Speeding To Hospital Gets Ticket

LONDONDERRY, N.H. (CBS) - A calm and happy baby -- Kyle Coughlin came into the world in a hurry. It all started normally enough in the middle of a September night.

"I called the doctor, let him know we were heading to the hospital," said his mother Angela.

But in that short ride to the hospital, things got urgent fast. Angela's water broke, the baby started to crown and John hit the gas. Hard.

Soon, there was a trooper on their tail.

"I called 911 to make sure that he knew I wasn't trying to outrun him or ignoring him," said John Coughlin.

Angela's screams can be heard on the tape of the 911 call. "He's coming out and I'm just screaming in the car just praying he's not going to come in the car."

WBZ-TV's Peg Rusconi has more.

The dispatcher made the trooper aware of the situation, and the trooper then pulled in front, escorting them to Catholic Medical Center.

"When he got in front of us and helped us out, I thought, oh, he understands this is an emergency," said Angela.

And it was. Kyle Coughlin was born six minutes later. John Coughlin then stepped out to see the trooper. "He said congratulations on your son but I'm going to have to see you in court."

John was allegedly driving 102 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone.

"I thought it was ridiculous. I thought I had done everything I could have done," said Coughlin.

He told WBZ he didn't know how fast he was going.

"Nobody could be happier for this family than the state police," said Major Russell Conte of the NH State Police, but he defends the trooper's choice to write the ticket. "102 mph is a dangerous thing whether the roads were clear or not."

What's not clear is which side will prevail. It's now up to a judge.

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