A climate activist has issued a public apology to a new mum after his selfish actions forced her to give birth to her second child on the side of a busy freeway in the middle of a major traffic jam.
Climate change protesters brought traffic to a standstill on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge during the morning peak hour on Tuesday.
The Extinction Rebellion protest involved a truck blockade which blocked three citybound lanes and caused a 30km traffic jam all the way back to the Princes Freeway at Hoppers Crossing.
Roshni Lad was in labour and on her way to hospital when she, husband Bhairav and a family friend got caught in the traffic jam.
The couple pulled over where two passing motorists also stopped and helped Ms Lad deliver a healthy baby boy before paramedics arrived.
Three protestors were arrested and each pleaded guilty to two counts of public nuisance by obstructing motorists and obstructing police and emergency service workers.
Roshni Lad gave birth to her baby boy on the side of a freeway during Tuesday’s traffic chaos
Protestor Joseph Zammit (pictured) has apologised for the inconvenience caused to a Melbourne mum forced to give birth on the side of the freeway
READ MORE: Climate protesters issue chilling threat to cause peak hour chaos
Climate protestors promised to cause peak-hour traffic in Melbourne’s CBD every day for a week in December (pictured)
One of the protestors apologised to Ms Lad hours after he was granted bail.
‘I’m very, very sorry that this happened… I would hate it to happen to my wife,’ Joseph Zammit told ABC Melbourne on Wednesday.
‘It’s just incredibly unfortunate.’
He added it wasn’t the group’s intention to disrupt emergency services or prevent patients from accessing medical attention.
Delays stretched back to Hoppers Crossing on the Princes Freeway, and the Deer Park Bypass on the M80 Ring Road.
‘Our intent is to stress the message that we are in a climate crisis,’ Mr Zammit said.
‘We do what we can with the best of intentions.
‘Things don’t always work out perfectly. It’s unfortunate for this lady and I’m very grateful that the baby, you know, was born well and happy and I saw the photograph of the mother with the baby. They looked fine and I’m grateful for that.’
Ms Lad wasn’t the only one heading to the hospital to be caught up in the chaos.
Another woman told the ABC that her granddaughter missed an appointment for an electroencephalogram as a result of the protest.
Three Extinction Rebellion protestors were charged over the truck blockade protest
Zammit called on the federal government to do more about climate change.
‘Yes, we’re pushing the envelope in order to try to make things happen,’ he said.
‘We are very sorry that (roadside birth) happened but we are also very sorry that we have to push the envelope and take these rather extreme measures to get heard.’
Hours earlier, Zammit, 68, defended the group’s actions outside Melbourne’s Magistrates Court.
‘What they (motorists) suffered today is nothing compared to what’s going to happen in the future,’ he told reporters.
‘What we’re actually doing is a service to the community.’
Zammit was granted bail to reappear in court on April 16. He has agreed not to participate in any unlawful protests.
The two other protestors, Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco, 33, from NSW and Bradley Homewood, 51, from Williamstown, were sentenced to 21 days behind bars.
Climate activists brought traffic on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge to a standstill, sparking 30km long traffic jams
CoCo, 33, was previously sentenced and jailed for 13 days over similar protests on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She was the first person to be jailed under NSW’s now invalid anti-protest laws.
‘The government must choose which side of history they will be on,’ she said in an Extinction Rebellion statement released after Tuesday’s protest.
‘ is the third largest exporter of fossil fuels in the world, and thus one of the biggest contributors to the global death project that is already killing people via flood, fire, drought and famine — particularly in low-income countries like those in South East Asia.’
Victoria’s police minister Anthony Carbines branded the protestors as ‘idiots’.
“It is clear that these individuals would like to cause mass disruptions which can put the safety of both themselves and others in the community at risk,’ he said.
He added Victoria’s anti-protest laws ‘strike the right balance between ensuring police have the tools they need to maintain public order while protecting the rights of citizens to peacefully protest’.
Extinction Rebellion has vowed to stage more disruptions next week.
The three protesters climbed on top of a truck to block three lanes of citybound traffic