At a deadly callout involving a drunk driver, the 118 are shocked to discover that they know one of the victims. Maddie goes into labour but she is determined to finish her shift at the dispatch center. Hen and Karen’s dreams of adopting Nia are shattered when her birth mother wants to reconnect.
The LAFD, LAPD, LASD, and CHP face their worst case scenario when a mother with her terrified son in the backseat is driving erratically down the highway, clipping other cars, before she makes the fatal mistake of turning onto the I-710, going the WRONG WAY. Despite many close calls, and Sue alerting LAPD and CHP to shut down the I-710 IMMEDIATELY before the worst happens, the worst does happen when she slams into an airport shuttle bus head-on, as Maddie hears the sickening crash over the call feed in horror, before a massive pileup occurs behind the collision, resulting in numerous explosions, fires, and the whole road blocked.
Athena arrives at the command post to join in the rescue efforts with the 118, LASD, and CHP, and soon finds what caused the mother to cause the crash: alcohol. Her angry Armor-Piercing Question causes Bobby to have PTSD to St. Paul. Another firefighter is injured when the airbag of the car he was working on causes the car to explode in flames, but the driver survives, but badly burned, as is the wounded fireman. Athena has to later break the bad news to the father and husband of the wife and son that caused the crash what happened and learn of what might have led to her causing it in the first place. The father breaks down in guilt-ridden grief when he learns the full details.
Meanwhile, Maddie is forced to be relieved of duty when she goes into labor, and Chimney is permitted by Athena and Bobby to head to the hospital to join her for the birth of their child.
Unfortunately, back at the pileup, Albert, Chimney's brother, is among the victims of the crash as he calls Metro and gets May as the dispatcher that takes his call.
1 Minute Before The Pileup
Albert's accident is shown before returning to the crash as Sue lets Bobby know, and May notifies Bobby and the 118 of Albert being in trouble. The 118 scramble to find Albert, while Chimney and Maddie are at the hospital. Once May tells Bobby that Albert's call came from Exit 43, they scramble to find his car, and soon find it. Checking on him, they find he's in critical condition, and hurry to extract him and rush him to the ER. In the ambulance, Albert flatlines. Despite Hen and the others doing their best to resuscitate him, it appears futile, but they soon get his pulse back. Meanwhile, Chimney and Maddie say hello to their new daughter.
At Metro Dispatch, the good news of Maddie and Chimney's new daughter is cause for celebration, and Sue tells May that Albert is in stable condition at the hospital. Buck goes to see Chimney and tell him about Albert, while Hen returns home to join Karen and the kids for breakfast, and learn of the situation with Nia being taken away by Social Services, and Karen seemingly not willing to fight keeping her in their family since Nia has a mom she deserves to go back to.
Chimney is with Albert, grieving the state of his brother in between his joy of being a father, but Albert is currently still unconscious as Chimney talks to him. Chimney asks his brother to recover as he doesn't want to lose him on one of the best days of his life, and as Chimney weeps, Albert finally awakens, much to Chimney's relief.
Bobby and Athena learn that Albert will be okay, as is the son that called 911 before his mom caused the pileup, who escaped with minor injuries, but will still face hard time for her DUI causing the pileup and several fatalities. After Athena apologizes for her Armor-Piercing Question at the pileup, Bobby heads to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. As he talks to the other members, the mom who caused the pileup is handcuffed to her hospital bed, placed under arrest for what happened, her son reunites with his dad, and Hen and Karen see off Nia as she's taken back to her real mom. Maddie shows off her new daughter to Buck, and she reveals the name to Chimney: "Jee-Yun". Chimney agrees with it, and Maddie is relieved to know Albert is alright. A happy ending for mostly everyone.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Armor-Piercing Question: After discovering a near-empty bottle of alcohol in the drunk driver's car, Athena angrily asks nobody in particular, "How many people have to die tonight because she was drunk and stupid?" Bobby, who was in earshot, is particularly shaken by it due to his tragic past and being a recovering alcoholic.
- Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Played with. Jee-Yun is born, while Albert nearly dies in a car crash.
