My wife and an aggravated assault

[NEB]

The other day I was home with our son when my wife called me and said the police would let her come home in a few minutes. Here's the short story and some thoughts:

First let me say that I am proud of my wife and the course of action she followed. She had pulled into a fast-food drive-through to pick up a bite to eat when a car behind her starts laying on his horn. She's trying to order her food, but cannot due to the honking, so she yells back at him to stop honking so she can order. After she orders, the man behind her honks more, blares his music, and then proceeds to ram her car with his. He does this again, so she makes sure her doors are locked and windows up and calls 911. He continues to alternatively ram her car and honk his horn while chugging an unknown beverage. He hit her car about 7 times purposefully, each hit, while not very hard from a standstill, was still enough to push her car forward.

Now this drive-through is bordered by a high curb and has a sloped drop-off from the curb, so even had she tried to leave the line, her low car would have high-centered on the curb. There was also a car in front of her, so she was trapped. She waited until the police arrived and watched them yanked and slam the perp.

I arrived as the police where continuing their sobriety assessment and watched from afar. The man was clearly not in control of his capacities. I asked one of the officers if he was drunk, and he said he didn't think it was alcohol, though the man had admitted to two beers earlier in the afternoon. More likely prescription or another controlled substance. They said his pupils were blown, and watching him, it was clear he was very imbalanced. The back seat and trunk of the car were full of empty water bottles, so there is also the possibility of water intoxication/hydrotoxicity as well. Whatever the case, he was hauled downtown for aggravated assault.

My wife is not eligible for a CHL due to medical reasons, and her biggest fear was what she would have done had he tried to approach her car on foot. My thoughts to her were that he couldn't effectively get to her without using something to attempt to break the window or unless he had a firearm. If he had a firearm or began an attack with an object, I told her in the future that she would need to ram his car as hard as possible in reverse to try and create space and get away, or use her car in an attempt to disable him first.

Had I been present, I would have done the same thing she did by locking the doors and rolling up windows and calling the police. Me getting out would be seen to be (in my mind) an escalation. Plus, what can I do against a 2700 pound automobile? While in the car, I would have drawn my firearm and concealed it for quick use if necessary. Had he attempted to enter my vehicle by force or displayed a firearm, I would have stopped the threat.

Thoughts?

--NEB

[RottenApple]

Does he medical condition prevent her from owning firearms? If not, I'd suggest she carry in her vehicle just in case. Other than that, sounds like she did the right thing. Glad it came out ok.

[fickman]

I want to be sensitive to your wife's privacy.

Just because her medical condition bars her from obtaining a CHL does not necessarily mean she cannot carry in the vehicle under the MPA, unless she is not allowed to own or possess a firearm at all. Also, this would of course be based on your wisdom and the input of any doctors you trust.

It sounds like she did everything correctly.

[Rrash]

Armchair quarterbacking details is unfair for us to do.

Here is what she did exceptional:
1. She created whatever barrier she could. Even though a rolled up window does not stop a lot of things, it a barrier.
2. She called 911 and did not let her guard down in the process.
3. Throughout the whole event, she seemed to keep her cool, no matter how traumatic or scary the situation was.

You should be proud of her.

[WildBill]

Armchair quarterbacking details is unfair for us to do.

Here is what she did exceptional:
1. She created whatever barrier she could. Even though a rolled up window does not stop a lot of things, it a barrier.
2. She called 911 and did not let her guard down in the process.
3. Throughout the whole event, she seemed to keep her cool, no matter how traumatic or scary the situation was.

You should be proud of her.

[fickman]

Armchair quarterbacking details is unfair for us to do.

Here is what she did exceptional:
1. She created whatever barrier she could. Even though a rolled up window does not stop a lot of things, it a barrier.
2. She called 911 and did not let her guard down in the process.
3. Throughout the whole event, she seemed to keep her cool, no matter how traumatic or scary the situation was.

You should be proud of her.

In addition: she called the police first and you second. We've seen many examples of wives doing this in the other order during an emergency.

[Pacifist]

Under the circumstances as you related them, your wife did everything 100% correctly, with the end result of no injuries (including fatal ones), and the bad guy in jail.

As you pointed out, in this instance, actually being in possession of a firearm would have made no difference whatsoever (except perhaps to make her feel slightly less threatened and/or helpless) as its use was not indicated. I would hope that my wife, who does carry, would have responded as appropriately as yours did under similar circumstances.

[NEB]

I was extremely proud of her as she is one to call me first for many things. However, when it counted, she did the right thing and kept her head. She was really shaken up by the ordeal in general, but that came later. My wife really doesn't like firearms. She has no trouble with me owning or carrying guns, but she is very squeamish around them due to some unfortunate family history. She would be able to have a firearm under the MPA, but I don't know that she ever would. Her biggest hurdle to doing so would be her willingness to become proficient in using a firearm. That's a slow battle that will be gradually won over several more years.

--NEB

[RX8er]

Armchair quarterbacking details is unfair for us to do.

The OP ended the post with "Thoughts?" I think this includes armchair quarterbacking.

Here is what she did exceptional:
1. She created whatever barrier she could. Even though a rolled up window does not stop a lot of things, it a barrier.
2. She called 911 and did not let her guard down in the process.
3. Throughout the whole event, she seemed to keep her cool, no matter how traumatic or scary the situation was.

You should be proud of her.

I agree 100%

[texanjoker]

Glad she is ok.

[alvins]

why not some mace if no gun?

[nyj]

Well, aren't you optimistic to call it "water intoxication." That doesn't cause dilated pupils, anyways.

[NEB]

Not sure about being optimistic, nyj, just throwing it out there as a complicating factor. And it's hard to pin down the CNS effects that hyponatremia can cause. The resulting neural edema can lead to compression of various structures and a wide variety of presenting signs. I don't know if it was psychological, illicit, etc, but he was clearly under the influence of something. My guess is he was on a controlled substance and compulsively drinking water.

To be honest, when my wife told me about him chugging something and tossing the bottle, I assumed it was alcoholic. However, not a bit of alcohol found in his vehicle. The officers searching the car were actually laughing and shaking their head at the amount of empty bottles in the car and trunk.

--NEB

[n5wd]

NEB -sounds like you've got a wife that can think clearly under some extreme circumstaces. Bravo for her!

[chasfm11]

The other day I was home with our son when my wife called me and said the police would let her come home in a few minutes. Here's the short story and some thoughts:

First let me say that I am proud of my wife and the course of action she followed. She had pulled into a fast-food drive-through to pick up a bite to eat when a car behind her starts laying on his horn. She's trying to order her food, but cannot due to the honking, so she yells back at him to stop honking so she can order. After she orders, the man behind her honks more, blares his music, and then proceeds to ram her car with his. He does this again, so she makes sure her doors are locked and windows up and calls 911. He continues to alternatively ram her car and honk his horn while chugging an unknown beverage. He hit her car about 7 times purposefully, each hit, while not very hard from a standstill, was still enough to push her car forward.

Now this drive-through is bordered by a high curb and has a sloped drop-off from the curb, so even had she tried to leave the line, her low car would have high-centered on the curb. There was also a car in front of her, so she was trapped. She waited until the police arrived and watched them yanked and slam the perp.

I arrived as the police where continuing their sobriety assessment and watched from afar. The man was clearly not in control of his capacities. I asked one of the officers if he was drunk, and he said he didn't think it was alcohol, though the man had admitted to two beers earlier in the afternoon. More likely prescription or another controlled substance. They said his pupils were blown, and watching him, it was clear he was very imbalanced. The back seat and trunk of the car were full of empty water bottles, so there is also the possibility of water intoxication/hydrotoxicity as well. Whatever the case, he was hauled downtown for aggravated assault.

My wife is not eligible for a CHL due to medical reasons, and her biggest fear was what she would have done had he tried to approach her car on foot. My thoughts to her were that he couldn't effectively get to her without using something to attempt to break the window or unless he had a firearm. If he had a firearm or began an attack with an object, I told her in the future that she would need to ram his car as hard as possible in reverse to try and create space and get away, or use her car in an attempt to disable him first.

Had I been present, I would have done the same thing she did by locking the doors and rolling up windows and calling the police. Me getting out would be seen to be (in my mind) an escalation. Plus, what can I do against a 2700 pound automobile? While in the car, I would have drawn my firearm and concealed it for quick use if necessary. Had he attempted to enter my vehicle by force or displayed a firearm, I would have stopped the threat.

Thoughts?

--NEB

First, your wife did great. Just keeping a cool head under such circumstances is something that many cannot manage. Second, she used the best resources available to her at the time. Calling LE quickly and giving them time to get there before the situation got even worse (as your suggestions about his getting out of his car and trying to break her window indicate that it could).

But your wife's situation points up a potential problem that we all face - no exit possible. I make it a practice never to use a drive through that doesn't have a way of getting out of line once you start in that line. Like your wife's situation, some have high crowns while others have actual concrete curbs. In fast food places, many drivers are in a rush and the car behind is always "pushing" by driving very close to the bumper of the car in front. I always try to leave room in front of me that, if I had to, I could turn the wheel hard and get out of line. I've had people shut their car off in front of me and not be able to restart it. In the driving courses, they recommend stopping at a traffic signal so that you can see the back wheels on the car in front of you touching the road. I try to do the same in the drive in lanes. I've been honked at by those behind me but if there is a car in front of me, the line is not going faster than that car.

We pulled into a fast food place yesterday. We had our granddaughter and two of her friends with us. I got them all out of the car and into the building to order. We were back in our car with our food before the car that had pulled into the drive thru as we pulled into the parking lot was past the order station. There was no line inside and there were 10 cars in the drive thru. Sometimes, the drive thru isn't the fastest option but I will admit that it is often the most convenient one