Police said they don't know who fired the first shot, but that it doesn't matter: No one should have been shooting at all.
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So said Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel in announcing the arrests of three people in what he described as "the ultimate road rage" incident.
"We've never encountered anything like it," Hackel said this afternoon of an early Sunday, high speed shoot-out along I-94.
Arrested from one vehicle were Dion Griffin, 46, of Grosse Pointe Farms and his 41-year-old wife, Lisa, both of whom were carrying handguns. Dorian Hatchett, 31, of Lathrup Village was arrested from a separate vehicle. He, too, had a gun.
Hackel said the men, who were driving, tell different stories: Hatchett allegedly says that Griffin, driving a Dodge Stratus, struck his Nissan Armada. Hatchett gave chase, prompting Griffin to open fire, after which Hatchett fired his 357 Glock in return.
Griffin, however, says he never struck Hatchett's SUV and that he fired his 9-mm gun in self-defense, Hackel said. Griffin was driving his wife and two adult daughters home from a birthday dinner for Lisa Griffin at 2:15 a.m.
One of the daughters crouched in the back of the car, crying to an Eastpointe police dispatcher after calling 911 that she didn't want to die, police said. Meanwhile, Lisa Griffin made her own panicked 911 call from the front seat.
Sheriff's Capt. John Roberts said the calls lasted about 10 minutes as the vehicles raced from Van Dyke and I-94 in Detroit to north of 23 Mile in Chesterfield Township. Both vehicles were going more than 100 mph, he said.
Both men were intoxicated, the sheriff added, with Griffin showing a preliminary blood-alcohol content of .09% to Hatchett's .12%. Lisa Griffin also was intoxicated, at .08%, Hackel said.
While all three have permits to carry a concealed weapon, it's illegal to do so while drunk, so each faces a 93-day misdemeanor.
Hatchett and Griffin also are charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a 4-year felony, and drunken driving, another misdemeanor. Both vehicles sport single gunshot holes.
All three have been released from the Macomb County Jail on bond while awaiting preliminary exams.
Hackel said the he said-he said dispute is moot: "No matter what happened, this was not an appropriate way for either one to handle things."
Dion Griffin
Dorian Hatchett