A California Army veteran says a terrifying road rage encounter turned violent when a furious driver allegedly jumped out of her car and blasted him in the face with pepper spray — all because she thought he was driving too slow.
The disturbing confrontation happened Monday morning along Vallejo’s waterfront and was captured on video, leaving the victim shaken and in pain.
Joe Vallely, a father of two and Army veteran who says he suffers from PTSD, was driving a company bucket truck around 9:30 a.m. on Wilson Avenue while working on internet infrastructure for city departments. According to Vallely, traffic was already moving slowly because the area recently added “speed tables” designed to force drivers down to around 15 mph in certain stretches.
“There’s speed bumps on the road, so you have to drive slow anyway,” Vallely told KTVU.
But one driver apparently wasn’t having it.
Vallely said a woman driving a Nissan Altima started tailgating him aggressively while flipping him off as he carefully maneuvered the large work truck down the narrow roadway.
“And I’m driving the bucket truck slow because it’s big and old and heavy,” he explained.
Things reportedly escalated when the road opened up near Hichborn Street. Vallely claims the woman suddenly sped around his truck, cut directly in front of him and slammed on her brakes, forcing him to stop abruptly while traffic piled up behind him.
That’s when the encounter exploded into violence.
Video recorded by Vallely allegedly shows the woman storming out of her vehicle and walking up to his driver’s side window before spraying him directly in the face with pepper spray.
“You scared? You should be scared, b—,” the woman can allegedly be heard shouting moments before spraying him at point-blank range.
The footage then captures Vallely screaming in agony after the chemical spray hit his eyes.
“She got me directly in the eyeballs,” he later said.
“Ow! Ow!” Vallely repeatedly yelled in the video.
Despite the attack, Vallely said he never confronted the woman and tried to avoid escalating the situation. Blinded and in pain, he somehow managed to drive to a nearby liquor store where he attempted to flush out his eyes before later receiving medical treatment at Kaiser Permanente.
The veteran said the violent incident has left him deeply rattled while simply trying to do his job.
Vallejo police say investigators believe they have identified the suspect and plan to forward the case to the Solano County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Trashy fat ngr, appropriating white people with her white trashy weave. She needs a beat down.