Man Appears in Court for NH Crash That Killed Newlywed

(NECN: Lauren Collins, Rollinsford, NH) - Forty-three-year-old Matthew Tsopas had allegedly been drinking and popping pills at the American Legion hall in Rollinsford shortly before the crash that killed Leah Fonda and severely injured Brian Preiss on July 20.

"When folks tried to intervene, Mr. Tsopas became enraged," Strafford County Attorney Thomas Velardi told the judge. "He threw a drink at one person and struck another person as they tried to keep him from leaving the bar area with his drink."

Prosecutors say Tsopas did leave the hall. He got in his own car, but hit four parked vehicles before he took off for Route 4.

"These were heavy-duty trucks that he was able to move several parking spaces over, smashing them into each other as well as several parked cars," said Velardi in court.

Just moments later, the head-on collision took place on Route 4. The state says Tsopas ran from the scene, tried to take off his clothes, and punched a Good Samaritan before police found him face down near a gully. Defense attorney Tim Harrington says his client was in shock.

"He was not actively fleeing. In fact, he was lying on the side of the road when the police found him and he didn't struggle with them when he was taken into custody," he said as he argued for a lower bail.  

The scars of the crash still remind people in this small town of the strangers who married just eight days before their lives took a tragic turn.

"It was at 4:30 in the afternoon. People are going out, going to dinner with their families or whatever. It could have been any of us," said Heather Leroux, who put out a collection box at the Friendly Market for people to send sympathy cards to the young widower, who was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital. "[I want him to] know he has a community here that loves him to death even though we don't know him but we definitely share in his sadness that he's feeling."

The judge is considering the request to lower Tsopas' $250,000 bail. His case now goes to a grand jury.