Police Arrest Woman following Road Rage and Assault Incident
Published on December 29, 2025
Palo Alto, CA – Police arrested a woman after she was involved in a road rage incident on the 700 block of Embarcadero Road on Saturday night. The woman intentionally struck another vehicle and then pepper sprayed the occupants prior to fleeing the scene. The woman was later arrested and booked at the Santa Clara County Main Jail.
On Saturday, December 27, 2025, at about 5:45 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call reporting a road rage incident that occurred on the 700 block of Embarcadero Road. The victim, a man in his twenties, reported that he was traveling eastbound on Embarcadero Road with his family and he was trying to change lanes to make a left turn. A gray Nissan Sentra would not let them over and would accelerate to prevent him from changing lanes. Once stopped at the stop light, the Nissan Sentra made a U-turn and struck the victim’s vehicle. The suspect exited the Nissan Sentra and threatened the driver. The suspect struck the victim with their keys and then pepper sprayed him. The passenger, a woman in her twenties, got out of the victim vehicle and was also pepper sprayed by the suspect. The victim’s four juvenile children (ages 9, 4, 4, and 1) were also in the car and exposed to pepper spray. The suspect fled the scene prior to police arrival. The Palo Alto Fire Department responded and provided medical aid to the family at the scene.
Through investigation, the suspect was identified as 26-year-old Mahima Yaqoob of Lakeport. Yaqoob was arrested in South San Francisco without incident on Sunday December 28, 2025. Police booked Yaqoob into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for 6 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful use of tear gas (both felonies). Yaqoob was also booked for 4 counts of child endangerment, 2 counts of criminal threats, 1 count of criminal threats, and for driving on a suspended license (all misdemeanors). Yaqoob’s booking photo appears above.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984, or submitted using the “TipNow-Palo Alto” app, which is available via the App Store or Google Play.