A homeless man is being credited with saving the life of an hours-old infant who was found crying in a patch of grass at dawn Sunday in Lakewood.
Mark Blevins said he heard a baby crying while he was scavenging for cans and food in a shopping center at Lakewood Boulevard and Hardwick Street.
When he found the girl, wrapped in a blanket, he didn't know what to do as the streets were empty at that the time of the morning.
"I was scared," Blevins said.
He went to his friends at their homeless encampment for advice. He hopped on his bike, cradling the newborn in his arm as he rode to a nearby fire station. Firefighters took the girl to Long Beach Memorial Hospital to be checked, deputies said.
Detectives went to the area where Blevins found the baby and that's where they met the infant's mom, who told detectives she helped deliver the baby.
"She appeared to be coming back to check on the baby," said Victoria Virosteck, who is also homeless in the area and has seen the woman who deputies believe is the mother.
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The 35-year-old mother is now receiving medical and psychiatric care.
"Maybe she didn't even realize she was pregnant and then she started to give birth," Virosteck said.
Anyone with information pertaining to the investigation is asked to call 562-623-3500 or 800-222-TIPS.
