Unknown bike messenger 'hero' as homeless woman delivers baby on street

An unidentified homeless woman delivered a baby at a Muni stop at Market and Sixth streets in San Francisco on the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. A bike messenger, whose name also is unknown, helped care for the baby boy until the fire department arrived. less An unidentified homeless woman delivered a baby at a Muni stop at Market and Sixth streets in San Francisco on the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. A bike messenger, whose name also is unknown, helped care ... more Photo: Amy Graff Photo: Amy Graff Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Unknown bike messenger 'hero' as homeless woman delivers baby on street 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

An unidentified bike messenger came to the rescue moments after a homeless woman gave birth to a baby at Market and Sixth streets in San Francisco, a witness said.

"He was a hell of a hero," Ayrron Comini said in an interview. "Nobody else stepped up, but he did. He literally took the shirt off his back and took care of that baby."

The woman, whose name is also unknown, pushed the child out Monday beneath the shelter of the 5 and 21 Muni stop without making a sound.

"I came out just after the baby hit the ground," Comini, who DJs at the Crazy Horse, a club adjacent to the Muni stop, said. "It was just this purple little thing."

Just then the bike messenger came to her aid.

"I watched the guy jump off his bike, take off his shirt and wrap it around the kid and cradle the baby," Comini said.

"The mother was just in shock. She didn't move.

"Everyone was standoffish. But he jumped in and probably saved that baby's life."

SFGate called seven local bike messenger comparnies to track down the unnamed messenger, but none of them could identify the man.

"My officemate told me about what happened when I stepped into the office yesterday," Marcus Miller, the owner of CenterCity Deliver, said. "He asked me if I knew who it was. We had a colorful conversation about it. We started asking around. People want to know who this guy is."

The fire department arrives

San Francisco Fire Department responders and police arrived at the scene shortly after the birth. SFFD public information officer Mindy Talmadge could provide few details about the incident, but she said the woman wasn't aware she was pregnant and the baby was born premature at 32 weeks.

She added that the mother and child were in good condition at the time of transport to San Francisco General Hospital.

Hospital information officer Brent Andrew could only confirm that the woman checked out of the hospital.

Video footage of the birth sparks controversy

The birth was captured on video at the scene by an unidentified witness. KRON ran an edited version of the footage in a news segment.

Some question why a person opted to film the incident rather than help, while others say the video raises awareness around the city's homeless population.

"Why would you film this?" asks one commenter on the Kron4.com website. "This is so horrible and sad, I cannot imagine just standing there filming."

"Why not?" responds another commenter. "People around the country should know what goes on in this disgusting city."

Alison Lucas, a clinical case manager at San Francisco's Homeless Prenatal Program, agrees that a video like this can highlight the issue that not everybody has the care they deserve, but she feels it's unfair to the woman in birth.

"A video like this can be shame inducing and it's invasive of someone's privacy," she said. "And it's what I call 'othering.' It presents folks who don't have access to resources as others."

In the video, a person assists the homeless woman during the delivery. It's unclear whether this is the messenger.

"Most of the people there just stood by and watched it happen, and homeless advocates are very concerned," according to the KRON news report.

Who is this unknown hero?

Comini said the bike messenger held the baby, a boy, in his arms and cleaned the guck out of his eyes. The man offered to let the new mom hold the child, but she was confused and stood with a terrified daze.

When the fire department arrived, the messenger went inside the Crazy Horse to wash his hands. Comini gave him a clean T-shirt.

"He's your story," Comini said. "I wish I got his name. He mentioned that he has two kids of his own. I know he had a Golden State Warriors tattoo on his chest. That's a clue."