Army veteran pepper-sprayed in Vallejo road-rage attack

VALLEJO, Calif. - A road-rage attack in Vallejo was caught on video, showing a woman pepper-spraying an Army veteran she believed was driving too slow.

What we know:

Cell phone footage taken by the victim shows a woman getting out of a Nissan Altima on Monday morning. 

"You scared? You should be scared b-" the woman says before she sprayed an orange chemical liquid into the window of the victim's work truck.

The caustic chemical landed in both of Joe Vallely's eyes. "Ow!" he repeatedly yells on the video with expletives.

"Immediately felt the pepper spray. She was like 2 feet away. She got me directly in the eyeballs," Vallely told KTVU on Tuesday. "It felt like someone was sandblasting my eyeballs with glass."

Street newly installed with ‘speed tables’

What we know:

It happened at about 9:20 a.m. Monday on Wilson Avenue along Vallejo's waterfront. 

"There's speed bumps on the road, so you have to drive slow anyway," Vallely said.

In fact, just three weeks ago, the city installed what's known as "speed tables" along the street because of complaints over drivers with lead feet.

The speed limit's usually 30 miles an hour. But it slows to 15 miles an hour for the speed tables. The woman behind him took offense to his pace along the one-lane street.

"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."

Vallely works for a company that provides Internet service for Vallejo city departments.

He continued driving until the street widened to two lanes near Hichborn Street. And that's when the woman drove around him.

Woman pulls in front of victim

The backstory:

"She slammed on her brakes, she forced me to slam on my brakes. And there's cars behind me that almost hit me. I almost hit the lady," he said.

And when she came out of her car, he says he began backing up - and never engaged with her.

"In the video, I said nothing. I wanted no confrontation. I wanted nothing to do with any interaction. I was just trying to avoid the situation at all costs," Vallely said. 

Victim got eyes flushed after attack

What's next:

Blinded by the chemical, he drove to a nearby liquor store to wash his face. He then got his eyes flushed at Kaiser Permanente.

Vallely is a father of two and an Army veteran with PTSD who's also a process server.

"I see a lot of stuff, and I'm always on edge, but I never in a million years would think that I would have to be scared of simply driving and doing the speed limit," he said.

He's set up a Gofundme to help defray medical costs.

Vallejo police told KTVU they believe they've identified the suspect and will forward their case to the Solano County DA's office for review.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan