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NEW YORK -- A barely breathing newborn girl was resuscitated by paramedics last night after she was heartlessly dumped into the arms of a perfect stranger on a Brooklyn street, authorities said.
The child -- whose umbilical cord was still attached and who was was struggling to breathe -- was being carried by a woman walking with a pillowcase over her head, witnesses said.
"The baby was blue in the face with low pulse and in critical condition," said EMS Lt. Will Riera, who responded along with paramedics Terrence Lau and Carl Gandolfo.
"With the vitals [she] had, as far as we were concerned, she was dead," said Riera.
Moments earlier, the disturbed woman had been noticed on Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights by concerned passers-by who asked if she needed help -- but she kept on walking, ignoring them.
They started calling 911 at around 6:20 p.m.
Finally, she handed the baby to the stranger, a woman who happened to be walking by, and fled.
That good Samaritan flagged down a police car, and Riera's unit arrived a few minutes later.
"It was a very chaotic scene. There were at least 30 people standing around and watching over their shoulders, asking questions," Riera said.
"I said to myself, 'Please, God, don't let this baby die.' ''
Gandolfo, who has a 15-month-old son of his own, said the girls "legs were purple and her eyes were closed.
"I opened the airway and put two breaths of mouth-to-mouth and she started to cough a little,'' he said.
They rushed her to Kings County Hospital.
"In the ambulance, we put a ventilation device to force the air in," Gandolfo, said.
"After a couple of pumps, she started to turn pink and move around and cry and fuss," he said.
Riera was overcome with emotion. "I started crying. I can't even explain the feeling of joy. I was just so happy and elated, it was just incredible," he said.
Gandolfo, 36, said the harrowing experience made him think of his toddler.
"With every pediatric call you can't help but think of your kids. You treat it like it was your own," he said.
Police are looking for the woman who handed off the baby, and don't know if she is the mother.
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