An alarming incident occurred on Monday morning when a case of road rage was captured on video. An Army veteran, who suffers from PTSD, found himself the victim of a pepper spray attack. The altercation reportedly erupted when a woman exited her vehicle and sprayed him in the face, allegedly due to his slow driving.
The incident took place at around 9:30 a.m. on Wilson Avenue, a scenic route that runs along Vallejo’s waterfront. This road has recently been modified with “speed tables” to slow traffic to 15 miles per hour in certain areas, contrasting with the usual 30 mph speed limit.
Joe Vallely, the victim in this unsettling encounter, was operating a company bucket truck, used for servicing internet infrastructure within city departments. While navigating the road, he noticed a Nissan Altima following closely behind him, its driver visibly agitated by his cautious pace.
“The road has speed bumps, so you naturally have to slow down,” Vallely explained to KTVU, emphasizing the need for careful driving given the road’s layout and the cumbersome nature of his vehicle.
The tension escalated as they continued on the narrow, one-lane stretch. Vallely recounted, “I noticed someone tailgating me and making obscene gestures. But I had to drive slowly because the truck is large, old, and heavy.”
“I noticed someone was tailgating me and flipping me off,” he said. “And I’m driving the bucket truck slow because it’s big and old and heavy.”
The situation boiled over when the road widened near Hichborn Street.
Vallely said the woman sped around him, cut in front, and slammed on her brakes, forcing him to stop suddenly while other cars were still behind him.
That’s when things turned violent.
Video recorded by Vallely shows the woman stepping out of her vehicle, approaching his work truck, and unleashing pepper spray directly into his open window.
“You scared? You should be scared b-” the woman says just before spraying him at close range.
Vallely immediately screamed in pain as the chemical hit his eyes.
“She got me directly in the eyeballs.”
“Ow!” he can be heard shouting repeatedly in the footage.
Despite the attack, Vallely said he did not engage with the woman at any point, instead trying to avoid escalation.
Blinded by the spray, Vallely somehow drove to a nearby liquor store to rinse his eyes before later receiving treatment at Kaiser Permanente for an eye flush.
Vallely, a process server, said the attack has left him shaken while simply doing his job on the road.
Authorities with Vallejo police say they believe they have identified the suspect and intend to forward the case to the Solano County District Attorney’s Office for review
The California Post contacted the Vallejo Police Department and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office regarding the investigation into the alleged attacker.
