Metro

NYC dad thanks cops, medics who thwarted carjacking with toddler aboard

A relieved Brooklyn dad praised the cops and medics who thwarted a carjacker in Sunset Park who sped off with his 2-year-old daughter in tow — and made sure his child was returned unharmed.

“Only thing I want to say is I have a most heartfelt gratitude for the police department and EMT service workers. That’s all I really want to say,” Andrew Li told The Post Saturday during a brief phone interview.

Cops say Tyler Hall, 33, of New Hampshire allegedly swiped Li’s gray Honda Pilot near 30th Street and 3rd Avenue in Sunset Park — across the street from the Metropolitan Detention Complex, a federal jail for criminals awaiting trial — at around 3:40 p.m. Friday.

Hall allegedly ripped off the vehicle as the toddler’s 34-year-old mom secured the little girl, Zoey, in her car seat, police sources said. He did not display a weapon, the sources added.

The 2-year-old was found unharmed and still in her carseat in the vehicle, which was ditched near Brooklyn Bridge Park, where the suspect was arrested.

Li said that Hall was a stranger to him.

Andrew Li with his daughter Zoe after she was found following the carjacking.
Andrew Li with his daughter Zoe after she was found following the carjacking on July 2, 2021. Paul Martinka for NY Post
Tyler Hall, the man who allegedly stole Andrew Li's car with his daughter still in it.
Tyler Hall, the man who allegedly stole Andrew Li’s car with his daughter still in it. Paul Martinka for NY Post

Hall was awaiting arraignment Saturday in Brooklyn Criminal court on a slew of charges, including robbery, vehicular assault, grand larceny, reckless endangerment, unauthorized use of a vehicle, unlawful imprisonment and acting in a manner injurious to a child.

Wearing an ill-fitting white plastic hazmat suit and a surgical mask, Hall remained tight-lipped as he was walked out of the NYPD’s 72nd precinct on Friday night.

Additional reporting by Kieran Ungemach