A routine traffic stop turned into a chance encounter between a New Jersey state trooper and the man who delivered him 27 years ago.
Trooper Michael Patterson pulled over Matthew Bailly for tinted windows last Friday in Kingwood Township – and the two men quickly realized they shared something in common, state police said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
Bailly told Patterson that he was a retired Piscataway police officer. When Patterson told him that’s where he grew up, Bailly asked where he lived.
The trooper told him Poe Place — and memories flooded back for Bailly, who’d delivered a baby on that very street on Oct. 5, 1991, when he was a rookie.
The experience left such an indelible mark on Bailly, who at the time had four years on the job, that he 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. “Thank you for delivering me.”
Their worlds collided 27 years ago when Patterson’s mom, Karen, went into labor while out shopping.
“She barely made it home,” the police said.
The trooper’s father, Bobby, rushed outside to meet his wife and carried her into their home. Bailly responded – and the doctor talked him through the birth of the would-be trooper.
Patterson and his mother visited with Bailly and his wife and snapped photos to commemorate their surprise reunion.
“They all felt this story was so uplifting, it needed to be shared, and we agree!” state police wrote. “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!”
Police said Bailly wasn’t ticketed.
With Post Wires