Two cops stopped a car that blew a red light on the Upper East Side last week — then let the driver go and even gave him a police escort to his destination.
That’s because there was a VIP in the front passenger seat: a mom-to-be in labor.
“My daughter went into some contractions [Thursday], but she wasn’t due until [Dec.] 23,’’ grandma Elizabeth Pagan recalled to The Post on Tuesday.
“The pain started to get stronger, and we were on our way to the hospital in Manhattan when the pain got worse.
“There was a lot of traffic, and I was helping my daughter out with the breathing, and she was afraid she was going to have the baby right there in the car! So was I!”
Pagan said Pedro Ruiz, the father of daughter Jeanette Pagan’s boyfriend, was driving the trio at the time.
The grandma said she told Ruiz, “We have to speed up! You have to step on it because she’s going to have the baby right here!
“And he said, ‘But I’m going to get a ticket!’ And I said, ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll pay for it!’ And then the police start approaching the car, and he says, ‘It’s too late, the police are coming towards us.’”
NYPD Officer Vincent Lanzieri said it was clear that something was afoot by the time he and partner Felix Sanchez pulled over the vehicle at East 96th Street and Park Avenue and got to the driver’s window.
Ruiz “was talking nervously and loudly, saying, ‘My daughter’s in labor, my daughter’s in labor, I’ve got to get to the hospital!’” Lanzieiri said. “We knew our job at that moment was to get them to that hospital.
“We said, ‘Follow us.’ He was super-excited. He said, ‘Thank you.’”
Sanchez said the cops escorted the family to Mount Sinai Hospital on Fifth Avenue between East 98th and 103rd streets.
Then “Lanzari and I picked up the daughter, brought her inside and helped her get into bed,” Sanchez said. “Nurses and doctors took over.
“The father was double-parked outside, and I told him to go inside and I would figure out his parking situation. ‘I’ll find you later to give you the keys back.’
“About a few hours later, we got the call. She had the baby,” Sanchez said.
Grace Ruiz entered the world at 3:10 a.m. Friday, weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces.
Sanchez said the two cops went back to the hospital for photos with everyone.
“They didn’t know how to thank us. They were super happy,” the officer said. “They wanted to take a picture to show their baby girl when she grows up.”
The cops’ 23rd Precinct posted a Twitter photo of the officers reunited with the family.
“A car stop became an escort as Officers Lanzieri and Sanchez were blessed to play their small part in this beautiful, healthy, holiday delivery. Welcome Grace to the #EastHarlem family!” the tweet said.
Sanchez said Grace’s grandma offered to “cook BBQ” for us.
“I just might accept,” he said.
“It reaffirms why I do this job, why I love this job,” he said of the experience. “I’m here to change people’s lives.”
Lanzieri added, “We were both just saying how grateful we are to have this opportunity.
“This is why I put on the uniform — it’s a lot more than just going out there and putting the bad guys behind bars.
“It’s also for the good people out there.”
Grace’s grandma, Elizabeth Pagan, said, “I wanted to give these guys a hug.
“After it all, it was like we were no longer strangers. We were like family.”