'Good Samaritan shot dead' by driver stranded in snow in North Carolina

The driver apparently struck Mr Heavner and then stood over the victim shooting him numerous times

Marvin Jacob Lee (Catawba County Sheriff's office )

A good Samaritan was allegedly shot dead by the man he was trying to help, after he saw a car stranded in the snow.

Jefferson Heavner, a 26-year-old single father, was part of a group of people who went to a help a car that had become stuck on a Catawba County road in North Carolina.

The group decided to call the police in the belief the driver, 27-year-old Marvin Jacob Lee, was intoxicated.

"They thought he was drunk and said, ‘let’s just call the law and let them deal with it,'" Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid told ABC News.

"He heard them say that. He jumps out of the car with a pistol."

The driver apparently struck Mr Heavner and then stood over the victim shooting him numerous times, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Lee returned to his car after the shooting and refused to surrender to authorities. A SWAT team was called in and had to pull Lee out of the vehicle, Fox News reported.

Lee has been charged with murder and is currently being held at the Catawba County Jail.

A gofundme campaign has been set up for Mr Heavner’s family and has raised almost $6,000.

The news comes as Storm Jonas batters the east coast of the US, leaving at least 19 dead and thousands without power.