Man killed when car hit crowd was ‘Good Samaritan’ trying to help stranger

A man who died after a car collided with a crowd of people during a violent incident on a street in Sheffield was a Good Samaritan just trying to help a stranger, police have said.

South Yorkshire Police have named him as 46-year-old Christian Marriott. The woman Mr Marriott was helping remains in hospital in a life-threatening condition.

Police have launched an investigation and two men, aged 23 and 55, are in police custody. Both have been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

The incident took place in College Close in the Burngreave area of Sheffield.

The father-of-two had been out for a post-Christmas walk with his wife and sons, aged eight and six, when he stopped to help a woman lying unconscious on the street just after 2pm on Wednesday 27 December.

It is believed the woman had been involved in an altercation between a group of people.

Mr Marriott, known as Chris, was understood to have left his family to stop and offer first aid to the woman along with an off-duty midwife before a car collided with them and a number of others at the scene.

DCI Andrew Knowles, the senior investigating officer, described it as an “utterly heartbreaking case” and said he was “determined to secure justice” for Mr Marriott.

He said: “This is an utterly heartbreaking case in which a Good Samaritan, who had stepped in to help a stranger in their time of need, has lost his life.

“Chris leaves behind a loving family including his devastated wife and two young sons.

“We are absolutely determined to secure justice for Chris and his loved ones following this horrific tragedy.”

He said there would be increased patrols in the area in the coming days and local people would continue to see officers carrying out enquiries, including going house-to-house to gather witness statements.

“There are people in that community who hold information which is vital to our investigation and have not yet given statements”, he added, “I want to be able to get to the bottom of what happened for Chris and his family.

“I need those people with information to do the right thing.

“If you don’t want to talk to us directly, you can use Crimestoppers and remain 100 per cent anonymous.”

The off-duty midwife suffered minor injuries. Another man suffered serious injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening and four further people – three women and a man – all incurred minor injuries.

Police have asked that anyone who has information about the incident should report it either online or by calling 101. The incident number is 459 of 27 December.

Officers are also keen to hear from anyone who lives in the area and has CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage and this can be emailed to [email protected] quoting the incident number in the subject.

Alternatively, people can report details anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling freephone 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.