Sheriff breaks up road rage fight that unfolded in front of him
By Luke Jones
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MAGNOLIA, Texas (KTRK) — Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle is being praised after stepping up to disarm a road rage driver while on his way to an event.
Doolittle was heading to a dedication ceremony in Magnolia Tuesday afternoon when he saw two men fighting in the middle of FM 1488 at Melton.
Magnolia police say one of the men was angry about a merge and that 55-year-old Vernon Cradier began brake checking the other driver.
Police say the other driver got out of his car and banged on Cradier’s windows before Cradier got out and began fighting the other driver.
Both ended up on the ground, and that’s when police said Cradier pulled a gun.
“They were both starting to physically fight, and then I saw the gun. I was like, ‘Oh no. That’s not good,'” witness Gaven Smith said.
When Doolittle walked up to the men, the video shows the unnamed driver holding Cradier’s gun.
“The younger dude with a beard, he took the gun out of his hand and held it up in the air and basically shoved his hand and had his knee on his back while the other guy’s gun was in his hand,” Smith said.
Doolittle confiscated the weapon and ordered both drivers to the ground while he called 911.
“It’s the sheriff,” Doolittle says in a 911 recording provided by the sheriff’s office. “I just drove up on a disturbance here. The guy pulled a gun on another guy. I need some backup.”
A day later, Doolittle is receiving praise from all corners. The Magnolia Police Department even plans to make him an honorary Magnolia police officer.
“He really put his job first over his agenda for the day. He was trying to keep the others safe even though he was off duty,” Smith said.
Cradier is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The other driver wasn’t charged.
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