An Atlanta sports reporter and an Uber driver are both maintaining two different accounts about who initiated an attack that happened on the highway after a dispute over the car’s temperature escalated to physical violence.
Tabitha Turner, a reporter who covers the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Dream, held a press conference with her attorney about the violent encounter that happened over the weekend on I-85.
According to WAGA, Hapeville police say the driver, identified as Mericole Smith, picked Turner up at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Saturday afternoon.
After Smith got on the interstate, Turner asked her to roll up the windows and turn on the air conditioning due to the scorching temperatures outside. Smith reportedly became upset, pulled into the emergency lane on the highway, and ordered Turner to get out of the car.
Turner said she would only exit the vehicle if she was refunded or police were called. That’s when Smith pepper-sprayed Turner, pulled her out of the vehicle, and then attacked her, according to police. Both women scuffled on the side of the road until a witness who saw the altercation pulled over and called 911.
However, Smith contested that version of events on social media.
In a now-viral video on TikTok, the driver claimed that Turner yelled at her about the A/C when she got in the car. After Turner didn’t calm down, Smith pulled over, flagged down another driver, and asked the passerby to call 911.
Smith also claimed that when she repeatedly requested Turner get out of her car, Turner refused and went “in her bag to get a weapon.”
Smith said that’s when she got back in the driver’s seat, got her mace, and pepper-sprayed Turner in self-defense.
“Because if you’re gonna be behind me with a weapon and insinuate that you’re gonna harm me, I’m going to act in my best interest, which is to protect myself, and that’s what I did. I maced the s— out of her,” Smith said in the video.
Smith said that’s when Turner lunged from the back of the car and attacked her, then got out of the car, and tried to gouge her eye out.
Her video got more than 2.5 million views on TikTok. Many users identified Turner as the attacker and posted the contact information of the agency that represents her.
At the news conference, Turner called Smith’s version of events false and said her video triggered a barrage of threats and harassment that left her in fear for her life.
“They flooded my social media with threats. They’ve reached out to people I work with,” Turner said tearfully of the threats she’s received from people online. “I have a 1-year-old daughter I like to take to games with me. Now I can’t, because I don’t know who’s going to be there to attack me based on what she’s saying.”
Police ultimately determined that Smith was the aggressor after Turner showed them cellphone video of the dispute, showing the pair arguing before Smith pepper-sprayed Turner and yelled at her to “get the f— out the car.”
“It is apparent that Smith was the primary aggressor as she swung and struck Turner and then used a non-deadly weapon,” the police report states, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Both women sustained injuries. Authorities say Turner scratched Smith in self-defense. Turner’s attorney said that Turner’s hair was pulled out and her left arm was injured.
Smith, however, still disputes Turner’s side of the story and maintains that the sports reporter launched the attack.
“I was, like, covered in blood,” Mericole Smith told WSB-TV. “I am essentially fighting for my life. I would never do this. I have so much to lose.”
Turner also continues to challenge Smith’s claims.
“People questioning my character because of what she’s saying. … I just wanted to go home after work and see my daughter,” Turner said.
Police have issued an arrest warrant for Smith for simple battery and misdemeanor battery. Smith said she will turn herself in.
Turner said she plans to pursue legal action against Smith.
In a statement about the incident, Uber told WSB-TV, “Safety is fundamental to the Uber experience, and conduct like this is not tolerated. We’ve taken action in response to this disturbing incident, including removing the driver from the Uber platform, and will support law enforcement however we can.”
Representatives for both Atlanta basketball teams have declined to comment.
