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Dueling Dads Charged With Attempted Murder After Daughters Shot During Road Rage Gunfight
Investigators say Frank Allison and William Hale engaged in a car chase before allegedly shooting at each other's cars, resulting in a 14-year-old and 5-year-old being injured.
Two fathers face attempted murder charges after their daughters were shot during a high-speed shootout on a Florida highway.
Frank Allison, 43, of Callahan, Florida, and William Hale, 35, of Douglas, Georgia, are both charged with attempted murder following a road rage incident Saturday evening, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said during a live press conference. Both men are accused of speeding northbound from the Jacksonville area on U.S. Highway 1 and engaging in a road rage incident that ended with Allison’s 14-year-old daughter and Hale’s 5-year-old daughter shot.
Both girls were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“Sometimes we see people acting stupid and doing dumb things out on the highway,” Sheriff Leeper stated. “They sometimes let their emotions get the best of them, and they don’t really think about the consequences of their actions or what can happen as a result of their stupidity.”
The incident occurred on Saturday, shortly after 6:00 p.m., between Allison, driving a gray Nissan Murano with three occupants, and Hale, driving a black Dodge Ram pickup truck with five occupants. According to Sheriff Leeper, both men were strangers to one another.
A third vehicle, another pickup truck, was also involved in the road rage incident but not involved in the shooting.
A witness reported both drivers were involved in a “cat and mouse game” and driving erratically, including one “brake-checking” the other, meaning stopping short in front of the other vehicle to cause a collision.
“At some point during the encounter, the driver of the Dodge Ram got up alongside the Nissan and rolled his passenger window down and began shouting at the driver of the Nissan to pull over,” explained Leeper. “The right front passenger of the Nissan put her arm out the passenger window and flicked the other vehicle off with her middle finger.”
According to Leeper, Allison rolled down the window of his Nissan to shout back at the Dodge Ram when one of the Ram’s occupants threw a water bottle into Allison’s vehicle. Although the water bottle did not injure anyone, nor did it cause Allison to lose control of his car, Allison allegedly responded by grabbing his SIG Sauer .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun and firing one shot into the Dodge Ram.
The shot pierced the rear passenger door and struck Hale’s 5-year-old daughter in the leg.
Allison attempted to speed away, later telling authorities he fired at the Dodge Ram to “get out of the whole situation,” according to Leeper.
The mother of the wounded 5-year-old called authorities from the speeding vehicle, as reported by NBC and ABC Jacksonville affiliate WTLV-WJXX.
“They’re all fighting, and my daughter’s been shot, and nobody cares,” the woman told dispatchers.
Hale told investigators he heard the shot but didn’t register what had happened until other passengers “started freaking out,” Leeper stated. Hale then gave chase to Allison and began shooting Allison’s car, emptying his Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun and striking the Nissan at least three times.
One of the bullets struck Allison’s 14-year-old, causing a collapsed lung.
“What is scarier than one crazy driver with a gun?” asked Sheriff Leeper. “Two crazy drivers with a gun.”
Both Allison and Frank pulled over upon seeing a patrol car along the highway, exiting their vehicles and then engaging in an altercation that was only stopped once the deputy intervened.
The Nassau County Fire-Rescue arrived at the scene and transported both children to the hospital.
“Thankfully, no one was killed in this incident, but it could have very easily turned out that way because two people were acting stupid and let their tempers get the best of them,” Leeper continued. “It could have been two dead kids because of two stupid grown men.”
Sheriff Leeper encouraged drivers not to engage with other drivers if they ever find themselves involved in a road rage incident.
Allison and Hale were arrested and booked into the Nassau County Jail. NBC News reported both have since posted bond and were released from custody.
