A must-see video captured the actions of a pizza delivery guy, who obviously had his priorities straight. After finding himself in the path of a high-speed police chase, the pizza-toting hero helped cops capture two alleged thieves — all without dropping a precious pizza pie.
Tyler Morrell, a Delaware County pizza delivery driver, was delivering a pizza for Cocco’s Pizzeria & Pub on a Sunday afternoon in the city of Aston, Pennsylvania when he found himself in the middle of a situation that he likely never anticipated. Thankfully, when his average work day turned into anything but, the fast-thinking delivery man knew exactly what to do and didn’t hesitate to take action.
While out on an ordinary delivery, things took a turn for Tyler when he found himself directly in the path of a high-speed chase. Indeed, what was supposed to be a normal pizza delivery ended up planting Tyler in the middle of a police pursuit, according to ABC 6. “A car just came up doing like 75, he beached on the side of this person’s lawn and almost took out a couple of cars,” Tyler told the news station.
It was just after 3:30 pm, and officers were in pursuit of a stolen Kia from Upper Darby. When the stolen car crashed along Preston Street in Middletown Township, the driver — a 17-year-old suspect — got out of the car and began to flee the scene on foot. That’s when he ran into the unexpected hero, delivery driver Tyler Morrell, who just so happened to be holding a pizza that he was about to deliver.
Without skipping a beat, Tyler stepped in, literally, and put an end to the high-speed chase by simply extending his foot. With the pizza box still in his hand, Tyler tripped the suspect, causing him to tumble to the ground and allowing the police to catch up with him and make an arrest, authorities said. The best part? Tyler never dropped the pizza, and it was all caught on video for our enjoyment!
“I started walking towards the road, but I couldn’t do anything with my hands because I’m holding the pizza, so I just stuck my leg out,” Tyler recalled, describing the moment that led to him being hailed a hero. “I am so sick of seeing crime go on, especially half a mile down the road,” Tyler furthered. “So if they needed a hand or a foot, I was there.”
And, the police were thankful. “He gave us the help we needed. By tripping him, it gave us the time to catch up with the gentleman,” Brookhaven Chief of Police Michael Vice explained as the police sang Tyler’s praises for his quick thinking that brought their pursuit to an end. “In this case, this guy ultimately saved the day,” Chief Vice said. “And I hear the pizza was saved as well!” Indeed, it was.
After all the commotion subsided, the pizza was delivered safely, and Tyler and Cocco’s Pizza were both given a great review by Danielle Yeager, who ordered the pizza. “10 out of 10 delivery,” she said, referring to Tyler’s service, which went above and beyond after the delivery driver literally put his best foot forward while delivering her dinner.
In addition to the 17-year-old driver, 19-year-old Jhonael Gutierrez-Tejada of Darby was also arrested, authorities said. Gutierrez-Tejada was allegedly the passenger of the stolen vehicle. He was charged with receiving stolen property and resisting arrest, among other charges, according to police. He was ordered held behind bars on $50,000 bail. The 17-year-old also faced charges, police said, but details were not released, likely due to the suspect’s age.
As for Tyler, he soon found himself garnering national media attention for his heroic efforts, and so did the pizza shop, according to Steve Schmucker, the general manager of Cocco’s Pizza. “I had a lady call this morning from Arkansas. She just said, ‘You know that was a crazy thing that he did. When we’re in town we’re going to stop by,'” Steve said. “People are calling requesting him to deliver.”
Due to the high volume of calls to Tyler’s work, he set up a GoFundMe campaign for anyone who wanted to “tip” him. The money raised will go towards his dream of starting his own restaurant, “Morrell’s Cheesesteak Company,” he said, according to The Blaze, which added that Tyler blew past his goal in only a couple of days. I don’t know about you, but I just love a story with an all-around happy ending!
