Bolt from the blue!
Ex-NJ cop pulled over by '91 baby he delivered
He got a ticket down memory lane.
A routine trafficfi stop turnedd into an unlikely reunion for a New Jersey state trooper — when he pulled over the very man who delivered him 27 years ago.
Trooper Michael Patterson stopped Matthew Bailly in Kingwood Township on June 1 for having tinted windows — and the two men quickly realized they shared something in common, state police said in a Facebook post this week.
Bailly told Patterson that he was a retired police officer from Piscataway — where PattersonP grew up.
When Bailly asked where Patterson lived, the trooper told him Poe Place — sending memories flooding back for the former cop.
Bailly, now 56, had four years on the job when he delivered a baby at a home on that street on Oct. 5, 1991.
The experience left such a mark that Bailly even recalled the color and style of the house, and the baby’s name — Michael.
Patterson suddenly made the
connection “My name is Michael Patterson, sir,” he told Bailly, extending his hand for a shake. “Thank you for delivering me.”
Bailly did not end up getting ticketed, police said.
State police marveled at the two officers’ paths crossing.
“We’re not sure what the odds are of this happening,” the Facebook post read. “Maybe they’re close to the odds of a hole-inone, winning the lottery or being struck by lightning — but it happened.”
The saga began when Patterson’s mom, Karen, went into labor while shopping at ShopRite.
“She barely made it home,” police said.
Patterson’s father, Bobby, rushed outside to meet his wife and carried her into their home. Bailly was the cop who responded — and the doctor talked the dad through the birth.
State police said the families “all felt this story was so uplifting, it needed to be shared, and we agree!
“After all, as a police officer, you don’t always get a chance to have a moment like this with people you once helped in your career!”