Arlington Hts. crews clear snow for expectant parents

Margie and Carmelo Lamancusa were supposed to be at the hospital at 7 a.m. Monday morning for the planned C-section delivery of their second baby.

But, as more than 19 inches of snow piled up outside the couple's Arlington Heights home over the weekend, that looked less and less likely.

“My husband was frantically shoveling all day long on Sunday,” Margie Lamancusa said.

But with drifting snow and lack of plows coming through their small cul de sac, they couldn't keep up with the blizzard.

Then Margie started having contractions ahead of schedule.

“We thought we'd have to call an ambulance, but we didn't know if they could get down the street either,” she said.

The couple called the Arlington Heights police and public works departments for help.

Glenn Adams was running snow command for the village when the call came in around 7 p.m. Sunday.

“I've been here 28 years and never had that happen,” he said.

Adams dispatched two plows, driven by public works employees Dave Nordin and Kurt Caley, to clear the couple's street and the end of their driveway right away.

“We paid special attention overnight in case they needed to get to a main road,” Adams said. “I have four kids so I know it can be fast or it can take hours. We just wanted to make sure everything was good.”

The Lamancusas were able to wait until morning and get to the hospital as needed, where Sam Vincent was born at 9:26 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

“If they didn't come, I don't think we would have gotten out of our driveway because there was just too much snow,” Margie said. “They were so great.”

Adams said the public works department was happy to help.

“We just started referring to him as our 'blizzard baby,'” Adams said.