A woman lost control of her car and ended up in a snowbank after a man drove into the back of her vehicle on Main Street on Thursday, Winnipeg police say.

Several people called police around 4:45 p.m. CT on Thursday to say a man tried to assault a driver, and witnesses were holding him, a news release from the Winnipeg Police Service said.

The man was driving erratically and cut off the woman driver, who was headed north on Main, the witnesses told police when they arrived.

He started slamming on his brakes, causing several near collisions, before changing lanes and letting the woman pass him, witnesses said.

After she passed him, he rammed the back of her car, they said, and she lost control and swerved into a snowbank.

Sharp metal object

The man then got out of his car and got into the woman's vehicle, demanding she give him her information, the news release says.

When she told him to get out of the car, he pointed a sharp metal object at her and began to lunge at her, police said.

Witnesses came to her aid and held the man until police arrived.

The woman's vehicle was severely damaged but she didn't require immediate medical attention, police said.

A 29-year-old Winnipeg man was arrested for two counts of assault with a weapon, possessing a weapon and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. He was released on a promise to appear in court.

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