Douglas man charged in Florida road rage incident hit with additional attempted murder, aggravated assault charges

Authorities in Florida have filed additional charges against William Joseph Hale, 35, of Douglas, who was charged with attempted murder in an alleged Nassau County, Florida, road rage incident on October 8, 2022. Hale has now been hit with three counts of attempted second-degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and one count of shooting into a vehicle.

The incident happened on October 8 when Hale and another motorist on U.S. 1 near Callahan, Fla., Frank Gilliard Allison of Cordele, began shooting at each other. Two children were shot as a result of the incident. Allison was also charged with attempted murder immediately following the incident but that charge has since been dropped; authorities have stated that Allison fired in self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

On Monday, October 10, 2022, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper held a press conference and  reported that on the previous Saturday, around 6:00 p.m., they began receiving multiple 911 calls from individuals reporting people being shot on U.S. 1 near Callahan.

The sheriff stated that a witness informed them of an incident he described as a "cat and mouse game" between the driver of a Dodge Ram pickup truck, later identified as Hale, and a Nissan Murano. The complainant reported that the Dodge appeared to have 5 occupants inside, with there being 3 individuals inside the Nissan, with Allison identified as the driver.

The complainant stated that he contacted 911 due to both individuals "driving so erratically, he thought something bad was going to happen." The sheriff stated, according to their investigation, the incident began when Hale and Allison, age 43, were traveling northbound on U.S. 1 coming from the Jacksonville area speeding, driving erratically, and brake-checking each other.

"At some point during the encounter, the driver of the Dodge Ram [Hale] got up beside the Nissan, rolled his passenger window at the Nissan, telling him to pull over. The right front passenger of the Nissan put their arm out the window and flicked the other individual off. Allison then shouted back at Hale, and a plastic bottle was thrown from the Dodge Ram into the Nissan. According to Allison, the water bottle did not hurt him or cause him to lose control of the vehicle," Sheriff Leeper stated.

Allison then allegedly grabbed a semi-automatic handgun and fired a single shot at the Dodge before speeding off. A few moments later, "everyone in the back seat [of the Dodge] began freaking out," and Hale realized the bullet had struck a five-year-old in the truck.

Hale, according to the sheriff, then caught up with the Nissan and fired multiple shots from his handgun at the vehicle, with one of the bullets hitting a 14-year-old in the backseat. The bullet resulted in the child suffering from a collapsed lung, according to the statement.

The sheriff also stated that Hale admitted to "shooting everything in the magazine, which was either 8 or 9 rounds.”

Both drivers continued driving north until they noticed a Nassau County Sheriff’s Office patrol car, and they both came to a stop. Leeper stated Hale and Allison exited their vehicles and began fighting, with the deputy having to break them up.

The children were then transported to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for their non-life threatening injuries.

Hale and Allison were jailed but soon bonded out. 

News4Jax has reported that Hale will be arraigned on the new charges on April 20, 2023.