PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A pizza delivery driver stepped in to help police take down a suspected car thief in Brookhaven, Delaware County.
According to the Brookhaven Borough Police Department, officers were trying to pull over the driver of a car that was stolen in Upper Darby on Sunday.
The 17-year-old suspect hit a pole. He got out of the car and tried to run away, but he didn’t get very far thanks to a Cocco’s Pizzeria and Pub employee.
Tyler, who asked to only be identified by his first name, told NBC10 he saw what was happening while making a pizza delivery at a home. As the suspect ran, Tyler stuck out his foot and tripped him, all the while holding firmly onto the pizza.
“He starts running. I’m like, I got the pizza in my hand. I didn’t get the cash yet for the pizza, so I’m like, I’m not gonna go back without the money for this pie,” he quipped. “I honestly feel like I did what anybody else would do. People think I did something extraordinary and I don’t really think I did. I think I just did what you’re supposed to do in a situation like that.”
He said he has a pretty nasty bruise on his leg, but he’ll be OK. He even got a few high-fives from police officers.
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The whole incident was caught on a doorbell camera, which the police department shared on Facebook.
Cocco’s Pizzeria and Pub in Aston praised their employee on Facebook, adding Tyler successfully “delivered the food unharmed.” Brookhaven Police Chief Michael Vice thanked Tyler and said if he’s ever looking for a job, they have an opening.
“It was actually shocking to see that he just happened to be delivering a pizza there. And I understand that pizza ended up being delivered without any further incidents,” Vice chuckled.
While police normally don’t want civilians to get involved in an arrest, Tyler gave them a leg up.
“In all seriousness, though, we do ask people to not intervene, that we want to let the police handle it, but in this case, it did work out,” he said.
NBC10 is a broadcast partner of KYW Newsradio. NBC10’s report is below: