A shocking road-rage assault was caught on camera Monday when an Army veteran with PTSD says a woman jumped out of her car and blasted him in the face with pepper spray over his perceived slow driving.
The confrontation unfolded around 9:30 a.m. on Wilson Avenue along Vallejo’s waterfront, a stretch recently outfitted with traffic-calming “speed tables” designed to force drivers down to 15 miles per hour in certain sections of an otherwise 30 mph zone.
The victim, Joe Vallely, was operating a company bucket truck used to service internet infrastructure for city departments when he noticed a Nissan Altima tailgating him and signaling frustration.
“There’s speed bumps on the road, so you have to drive slow anyway,” Vallely, a father of two, told KTVU. Explaining he was already moving cautiously due to the road design and the size of his vehicle.
Tensions escalated as both vehicles continued along the one-lane stretch.
“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.
Angry that driver in front of her was going slow on Vallejo street w/newly-installed “speed tables,” this woman drives around him, slams on her brakes, walks back to his work truck & pepper-sprays him. @VallejoPd investigating. Victim speaks out, 5 p.m. Only on @KTVU pic.twitter.com/nM9ORgIiHn
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) May 12, 2026
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.
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