Gypsy cab as impromptu safe haven:

A man carrying a 6-month-old girl flagged down a black car for hire in Queens on Thursday and left the baby behind after asking the driver to stop, the police said.

The driver immediately took the infant to a firehouse in Corona, the police arrived and the baby was taken to St. John’s Queens Hospital, where she was in good condition.

. . .

About 10 a.m., the driver, whose name the police did not release, was flagged down at Northern Boulevard and 106th Street by a man holding the infant. When the driver and his passengers reached Northern Boulevard and 83rd Street, the man asked the driver to stop so he could make a phone call.

The man then walked across the street to a pay phone and fled, the police said. The driver took the child to Engine Company 289 at 97-28 43rd Avenue.

The driver is an independent contractor affiliated with Tel-a-Car of New York, said the company’s manager, Rocco Sacramone.

“It was a great thing he did,” said Mr. Sacramone, who would not disclose the driver’s name. “He went out, he went to work, he did a great thing, and then he went home and went to sleep.”

Generally, only taxis are allowed to pick up passengers in the street; Mr. Sacramone said he did not know why the driver had picked up the man.