On a Friday evening in Tempe, Arizona, a young man's impulse to help a stranger in distress tragically ended his life. Twenty-two-year-old Joseph DeLegge, a White/Caucasian male, was driving near the Loop 202 and Scottsdale Road on May 8, 2020, when he witnessed a hit-and-run collision. True to his character of always stopping to assist others, he pulled over to help the driver of the car that had been struck.
The vehicle responsible for the crash, a Hyundai, had five juveniles inside who promptly fled the scene on foot.
DeLegge, along with the driver he had stopped to help, decided to follow three of the fleeing teenagers. They located them in a nearby parking lot where DeLegge, who was carrying a handgun, instructed the juveniles to wait while he called the police. During this tense confrontation, a fourth individual from the hit-and-run, 17-year-old Antonio Misquez, arrived at the scene. As DeLegge's attention was momentarily diverted, Misquez allegedly pulled out a revolver and shot him. The single gunshot proved to be fatal, and Joseph DeLegge was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
In the aftermath of the shooting, all the juveniles fled, but they were later apprehended by the Tempe Police Department. The alleged shooter, Antonio Misquez, was arrested and is facing multiple felony charges, including murder. He is being charged as an adult. The community and DeLegge's family were left to mourn the loss of a man who was described as a talented artist with a great sense of humor and a compassionate heart, a Good Samaritan whose final act was one of selfless courage.
