Police said they have identified a possible suspect after video captured the confrontation.
VALLEJO, Calif. — Vallejo police are preparing a case for prosecutors after an Army veteran said a woman tailgated him, cut him off and pepper-sprayed him Monday morning along the city’s waterfront.
Joe Vallely said he was driving a work truck at the speed limit on Wilson Avenue when the driver behind him became angry. The confrontation was recorded on cellphone video and is now part of a police review. Vallejo police said they believe they have identified a possible suspect and plan to send the case to the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.
The attack happened about 9:20 a.m. Monday on Wilson Avenue, where the city recently installed speed tables after complaints about speeding. Vallely said the road was one lane in the area, and his bucket truck was large, old and heavy. “There’s speed bumps on the road, so you have to drive slow anyway,” Vallely said. The speed limit is usually 30 mph, but slows to 15 mph at the speed tables.
Vallely said the woman tailgated him and made obscene gestures before passing when the road widened near Hichborn Street. He said she pulled in front of him, hit her brakes and forced him to stop. Video shows the woman getting out of a Nissan Altima and walking toward his truck. Vallely said he tried to back away and did not argue with her before she sprayed an orange chemical through his window.
The chemical hit both of Vallely’s eyes. He said the woman was about 2 feet away when she sprayed him. “It felt like someone was sandblasting my eyeballs with glass,” he said. Blinded and in pain, Vallely drove to a nearby liquor store to wash his face, then went to Kaiser Permanente to have his eyes flushed.
Vallely, a father of two, said the attack shook him because he already lives with PTSD from his Army service. He also works as a process server and said he is used to tense situations. Still, he said he did not expect to be attacked while driving at the speed limit during a workday.
No arrest had been announced as of Wednesday. Police said the case will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office for review, where prosecutors will decide whether charges should be filed.
Author note: Last updated May 13, 2026.