2 held at gunpoint in road rage incident

APPLETON - A 48-year-old Appleton man held two people at gunpoint, after accusing them in a road rage incident.

But they say the same about him.

It happened earlier this week in Wausau.

Police say the man told officers a couple from Menominee, Michigan rammed his Lexus with their Dodge Caravan, and then assaulted him in a parking lot.      

Officers arrested the driver of the van, 30-year-old Nicholas Flanagan, and a passenger, 26-year-old Jessica Ratliff.

It happened Tuesday on Highway 29.

Two vehicles, both on the phone with 911 dispatchers, reported a road rage incident.

The caller in the Lexus, Scott Van Patter, reported, "They sideswiped my car. I'm eastbound on 29. And now they're playing the slamming the brakes on in front of me game."

The other caller was a passenger in the Dodge Caravan who said, "We have a car that's being disgruntled on the road, it just hit us!"

Van Patter told FOX 11 that's not true.

"So they rammed you, you didn't ram them?" I asked. "Yes, absolutely," said Van Patter.

Nicholas Flanagan, the driver of the van, told FOX 11 by phone Van Patter is wrong.

"(He) just grabbed his wheel, and as hard as he could, slammed right into the side of our van with four kids in it," Flanagan said.

Dispatchers told both callers to pull over into the Menards parking lot and remain inside their vehicles.

But Van Patter's 911 call showed that didn't happen.

Van Patter told dispatchers, "And here he comes to my car."

The dispatcher responded, "No, he is supposed to stay in his car."

Van Patter replied, "Nope he's not."

An unknown person is then heard saying, "Who do you think you are?"

Van Patter is overheard saying, "Here we go!"

Van Patter said once both vehicles arrived in the parking lot of Menards waiting for officers the couple got out of their van and began attacking him.

"He was reaching over the door with his keys stabbing me, and she was standing aside of him. And she was reaching in with her right hand, and kept trying to hit me and that's where this came from and that cut came from," Van Patter said.

"I could see him reaching underneath his seat which I obviously knew was for a weapon. So I get out I open up his door, I grabbed his belt and I'm trying to pull him out of his vehicle before he can reach his firearm," said Flanagan.

Flanagan said Van Patter was the instigator, so he started hitting back in order to protect his family.

"I decided enough was enough. I backed away. He ended up getting his firearm out and pointing it at me and my van full of kids. He not only pointed it, he cocked his gun, made sure there was a bullet in the chamber and pointed it at us," Flanagan said.

Van Patter said he only took out his weapon because he felt he was in danger. He added Jessica Ratliff came toward him and said, "What are you going to do? Shoot me?"

"I picked the gun up and I raised it and I pointed it at her and then she started to walk away after that and I lowered the gun and put it down at my side, put the safe on and a minute later or so the police arrived," Van Patter said.

As far as handling the situation better, we heard from both sides.

"Come on the guy stopped short on us twice. I do agree we could have handled the situation a little bit better, but I was protecting my children from a crazed man with a gun," Flanagan said.

"They rammed me and then proceeded to assault me. If I was the crazed one why didn't I get out of my car and attack them?" said Van Patter.

Flanagan and Ratliff have posted bond and will be in court later this month.

Wausau police say they are still investigating, but add its unlikely Van Patter will be charged.

Van Patter did have a concealed carry permit for the gun.