A Florida man has been charged with attempted murder in connection with a road rage exchange that stretched for miles in northeast Florida and left two children with gunshot wounds.
Authorities say that William Hale, 36, drove his pickup truck alongside a sport utility vehicle on U.S. 1 last October and demanded Frank Allison, 44, pull over. Hale’s wife reportedly rolled down a window and made an obscene gesture, according to local NBC station WTLV-TV.
After the drivers exchanged words, a water bottle reportedly was thrown from Hale’s truck. Allison responded by grabbing a handgun and firing a shot. That shot hit Hale’s 5-year-old daughter, so Hale reportedly fired his own handgun from behind the SUV. Bullets hit the back of Allison’s vehicle, wounding his 14-year-old daughter inside.
Hale, 36, was charged on April 6 in Jacksonville with charges that include shooting into a vehicle, the station reported.
Prosecutors believe Hale was at fault. WJXT-TV reports he faces three counts of attempted second-degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault and the shooting charge.
Allison originally was charged with attempted murder. But prosecutors have dropped that charge, citing Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law based on the throwing of the bottle.
A statement from the Florida State Attorney’s Office says both children are expected to make a full recovery. But Allison’s daughter had a collapsed lung.
Hale is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, April 20.
