Global Courant 2023-04-16 14:05:10
Two fathers who got involved in what police say was a street brawl in Florida last fall exchanged gunfire and ended up shooting at each other’s daughters.
Now one of them is charged with attempted murder, while the other does not face another day in court because of the skirmish.
William Hale, 36, of Douglas, Georgia, and Frank Allison, 44, of Callahan, Florida, both drove their families home on Oct. 8 after spending time in Jacksonville in northeast Florida.
Both men have different accounts of how the confrontation started, but both agree that it was sparked by road rage, that they were checking each other on the brakes, driving too fast, and that Allison’s wife went off the Hales, according to police data obtained by USA TODAY.
William Hale is pictured in a mug shot the day he was arrested in connection with the traffic altercation.
At one point, Allison, his family members, and an independent witness told police that Hale became the aggressor, who tried to run Allison off the road, chased after him, and threw a bottle of water into his driver’s side window.
That’s when Allison grabbed his gun and fired, hitting Hale’s 5-year-old daughter in the lower leg. Allison later told police he was aiming for the bottom rear cargo floor.
“After he fired, my daughter screamed,” Hale told police. “It was an instant response.”
So Hale grabbed his own pistol from his center console and emptied the Glock 43, firing seven to eight rounds at Williams’ car, Hale told police.
One of the bullets hit Williams’ 14-year-old daughter in the back.
“It hurts!” Williams’ daughter screamed on bodycam footage of the incident.
“I don’t want to die,” Hale’s 5-year-old can be heard saying during a 911 call, according to WJXT-TV.
Both girls were later treated for their injuries in local hospitals and survived.
Frank Allison is pictured in a mugshot after being arrested in connection with the traffic altercation.
Who is being sued?
At the time of the fight, police arrested both men on attempted murder charges, saying they “deliberately committed an act” that could have killed the girls.
“The act was imminently dangerous and showed a depraved mind with no regard for human life,” the police wrote.
Story continues
That was October. Now Hale is the only man to be charged.
The Nassau state attorney charged him on March 30 with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of deliberately throwing a deadly missile.
That latest charge stems from the fact that Hale allegedly threw a bottle of water into Allison’s car.
Allison told police that while the water bottle didn’t hurt him or cause him to lose control of the vehicle, it “surprised me so much I grabbed my gun,” and that he shot at Hale’s car to “get out of the whole situation.” to come”. “
According to the Nassau County State’s Attorney’s Office, Allison is protected from charges under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law.
“Courts in Florida have ruled that throwing a water bottle or the like may constitute the basis of a violent crime,” said an order affidavit written by assistant state attorney Christopher Roth Huband on March 31.
“The water bottle contained liquid and (Hale) threw it maliciously, clearly intending it to enter the Allisons’ vehicle and possibly hit one of the occupants,” Huband wrote. “As such, the water bottle would qualify as a lethal missile.”
This screenshot shows some of the conclusions from the Nassau State Attorney on why Frank Allison should not be charged.
Huband continues that Hale’s “aggressive driving and water bottle throwing made the Allisons fear imminent death or great bodily harm and constitute the commission of violent crimes”.
“William Hale’s actions—both independently and collectively—justify Frank Allison’s use of deadly force against William Hale,” Huband wrote.
It is unclear whether Hale has found a lawyer.
“Two Stupid Grown Men”
In October, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper told WJXT-TV in Jacksonville that there were almost “two kids dead because of two dumb grown men.”
“What’s scarier than one crazy driver with a gun, than two crazy drivers with a gun?” said Leeper. “Fortunately, no one was killed in this incident, but it could have easily turned out this way because two people acted stupid and let their temper get the better of them.”
He said drivers who find themselves in a similar situation should have the means to withdraw.
“Someone aggressively driving around you, let them go,” Leeper said. “Slow down. Go the other way. Get the description of the vehicle if you can and call the police.”.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2 Dads Traded Gunshots In Florida Traffic Argument; daughters shot
