A man was killed in a car crash in Annapolis early Saturday morning after a bizarre series of events that included a confrontation between the occupants of two cars and a police pursuit.

The incident began around 4 a.m. when the driver of a Mitsubishi stopped to help those inside of a disabled car on St. Margarets Drive near Meadow Valley Drive, police said. "For some reason," police said, the occupants of the two cars got into an argument.

Nathan Dunn, 19, of Annapolis, one of the occupants of the disabled car, punched and kicked the Mitsubishi's passenger side and the car reversed and struck Dunn, who grabbed the car's rear spoiler and was dragged into the road, police said.

A police officer arrived in time to see Dunn be struck by the Mitsubishi as it was backing up, and attempted to pull over the Mitsubishi, but the car fled for about a mile while being pursued. The driver spun out as right-hand turn in the area of Old Mill Bottom Road South and struck a tree from the rear, police said.

James Patrick Darcy Jr., 29, of Annapolis, who was in the backseat of the Mitsubishi, suffered head injuries from the tree collision and was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. Police are consulting with prosecutors to consider potential charges and said speed and alcohol are both contributing factors in the crash.

Dunn had minor injuries and refused medical attention, while the driver of the Mitsubishi and another passenger also had minor injuries, police said.

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