Vallejo woman arrested for allegedly pepper-spraying Army vet over slow driving
Army veteran pepper-sprayed in Vallejo road-rage attack
A man driving a work truck was attacked by a woman who tailgated him before stopping in front of him and spraying him in the eyes with a chemical.
VALLEJO, Calif. - A woman seen on video pepper-spraying an Army veteran during a road rage incident in Vallejo has been arrested.
Tiffany Bagby, 41, was arrested after allegedly leading police on a chase, according to the online crime blotter Vallejo Crime.
Video from Monday morning’s incident shows a woman, believed to be Bagby, getting out of a Nissan Altima and approaching the victim’s work truck on Wilson Avenue along Vallejo’s waterfront.
Army veteran pepper-sprayed in Vallejo road-rage attack
A road-rage attack in Vallejo was caught on video, showing a woman pepper-spraying an Army veteran she believed was driving too slow.
Joe Vallely said the woman became angry because he was driving too slowly.
"You scared? You should be scared b— ," the woman says in the video before spraying an orange chemical substance through the truck window.
The spray hit Vallely directly in the eyes.
"I 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."
Speed tables installed along road
Dig deeper:
The city recently installed "speed tables" along Wilson Avenue following complaints about speeding drivers.
"There’s speed bumps on the road, so you have to drive slow anyway," Vallely said.
The speed limit on the street is typically 30 mph, but drivers must slow to 15 mph when crossing the speed tables. Vallely said the driver behind him became upset with 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.
Featured
San Leandro police chief denies hit-and-run, says she suffered medical emergency
The San Leandro police chief charged with a hit-and-run after allegedly sideswiping a car, has been placed on administrative leave. The embattled chief on Wednesday denied the allegations.
Driver allegedly cut him off
Vallely said he continued driving until the street widened into two lanes near Hichborn Street. That’s when the woman allegedly drove around him and abruptly stopped.
"She slammed on her brakes. She forced me to slam on my brakes," he said. "There’s cars behind me that almost hit me. I almost hit the lady."
When the woman got out of her car, Vallely said he tried to avoid a confrontation by backing up.
"In the video, I said nothing. I wanted no confrontation," he said. "I wanted nothing to do with any interaction. I was just trying to avoid the situation at all costs."
Veteran says attack left him shaken
What they're saying:
After being sprayed, Vallely drove to a nearby liquor store to wash his face before he got his eyes flushed at Kaiser Permanente.
Vallely, a father of two, is an Army veteran with PTSD and also works as 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 has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical expenses.
Suspect posted her version online
The other side:
Following the incident, a woman believed to be Bagby posted her account online.
"I got out the car, and he began to record me, and yes, I pepper-sprayed him, and I walked off," she said. "That was no attack. Really wasn’t an intent to harm him. It was an intent to stop him from following me and antagonizing me on the road."
The Source: This report is based on information from Vallejo Crime, the Vallejo Police Department, social media posts and an interview with the victim.