Every once in awhile a father must do what a father must do. So was the case with James Tingler of Circleville.

On Sept. 1, Tingler and his pregnant wife, Rebecca, were on their way to Davis Memorial Hospital in Elkins when all of a sudden he realized that he was going to become a dad sooner than expected.

The couple had left home and as they were traveling to the hospital the baby decided it was time to see the world and make her debut. The Randolph County Emergency Squad was en route to intercept the couple, but the baby, named Lexy Lynn, had other ideas as to what was going to happen.

James Tingler delivered his daughter at 12:50 a.m. in his pick-up truck along the side of road at the bottom of Cheat Mountain, just before entering Huttonsville.

Although the baby was 3 1/2 weeks early, everything went fine with the delivery. Rebecca Tingler had gone into premature labor twice before her due date and had been in the hospital seven out of 10 days.

Some four minutes after the baby was born, the EMS arrived to help.

"James did an excellent job of delivering Lexy for having no experience at all with this type of situation," Rebecca said.

The infant weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 19 inches in length. The mother is the former Rebecca Bennett of Belington. The couple also has a 2 1/2-year-old daughter, MaKayla.

Lexy and her father have a lot in common: Ironically James was also born on top of Cheat Mountain - but in an ambulance - in July 1977. The Tinglers will have plenty of stories about how Lexy was delivered.

Paternal grandparents are Roger and Gloria Tingler of Circleville. Maternal grandparents are Jerry and Carylon Bennett of Belington. Great-grandparents are Marshall and Betty Tingler of Circleville and Helen Moats of Durbin.