Police: Armed good Samaritan held drunk driver at gunpoint, 'probably prevented a tragedy'

A fast-thinking good Samaritan with a gun may have prevented a tragedy in New Hampshire after he stopped a man who tried to flee after allegedly causing a series of collisions on New Year's Eve.

"The actions that [the Samaritan] took, I believe stopped further destruction and probably prevented a tragedy," Portsmouth Police Officer Timothy McCain told WBZ-TV.

Police arrested Aaron Marconi, 50, who was allegedly driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol shortly before the city's New Year's Eve celebrations began.

McCain said police don't encourage civilians to put themselves in harm's way, but it's possible that the unidentified man may have saved someone from being killed Monday night.

What are the details?

Police said that Marconi crashed his pickup truck into multiple parked cars and knocked over a Dunkin Donuts sign before he finally drove his vehicle into a sandwich shop.

The good Samaritan, who had been tailing the truck purposefully after witnessing the collisions, used his car to block Marconi when he tried to flee the scene.

According to police, the man got out of his vehicle and walked over to confront Marconi, who then allegedly threatened to kill him.

That's when the good Samaritan pulled out his legally owned handgun and detained the suspect until police arrived on the scene.

Officers allegedly found heroin in Marconi's vehicle. He was charged with felony possession of a narcotic drug, driving while intoxicated, and criminal threatening and conduct after an accident, according to WBZ.

Sandwich shop owner Nikki Nachampassak told WBZ she was thankful for that no one was injured during the incident.

"I'm just grateful that no one was hurt," Nachampassak said. "Everything else can be worked on, fixed. But you can't fix a life."

What else?

Marconi, who was initially hospitalized for unknown medical reasons, has been released on bail, according to the police.

His arraignment is scheduled for Friday morning.

H/T: (WBZ-TV)