Oconee County deputies honored for saving the life of a newborn baby named for Braves stars

Danielle Smith will never forget the day in June 2023 that her son Riley Maddux Smith came into the world.

Neither will two deputies for the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. On that day, they responded to her home after she unexpectedly gave birth.

When Sgt. Daniel Ellis and Deputy Robert Perrin entered the house they found the newborn infant and mother in the wake of afterbirth. The deputies reported the infant didn’t appear to have a pulse, so they immediately began CPR before the arrival of Oconee Medical First Responders and an ambulance.

Their quick action, which may have saved little Riley, was rewarded last week when Oconee County Sheriff James Hale awarded them the Life Saving Award, an award established by the sheriff's office.

“I’m proud that what they did ended with a positive outcome,” he said. "... We encourage all of our deputies to go through the county fire and rescue medical responders’ class. ... Law enforcement in general are usually the first to show up on a scene and it’s a terrible feeling to show up and not know what to do to help somebody."

Some Oconee deputies have continued their training and earned an EMT certificate, Hale said.

Smith also said she was appreciative of the deputy’s quick actions, even though due to the panicky situation she was only vaguely aware of what was going on.

Smith, who also has twin daughters, said she had been to the hospital during the weekend due to pain and she was told she was having cramps. Then on the following Monday at home, she began hurting again.

“The pain got really bad. I screamed and there was a baby in my shorts,” she recalled.

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Smith’s mother had already left her home to visit her daughter and arrived to find the birth had taken place. She called her daughter’s doctor and 911. Her husband, Alex, also arrived and he was soon followed by the deputies.

“I didn’t know what all was happening,” she said. “There were a lot of emotions at one time. I was so happy to be out of pain. I needed to catch my breath and I’m thinking at the same time about my baby.”

“It was all a big blur. There were tons of people,” she recalled.

But the problems weren’t over for the Smith.

Little Riley was incubated in the ambulance as they traveled to a hospital in Athens. Then they were transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Augusta, where they spent more than 200 days before being allowed to come home.

The Smiths, who are Atlanta Braves fans, named their son after two stars, Austin Riley and Greg Maddux.

The family of five live on a street in Bogart near a volunteer fire department.

“I see them put on their training and it’s worth your while to have that class,” she said. “I’m so thankful for them doing what they do.”

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This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Two Oconee County deputies honored for life savings effort of baby