Mace-fueled catfight erupts in Uber after TV presenter asked Atlanta driver to roll up windows in 90F heat

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A sports reporter claims she was violently assaulted and pepper-sprayed after asking her Uber driver to roll up the car windows during 90-degree heat.
Tabitha Turner, an Atlanta based NBA and WNBA presenter, was travelling in the back of Mericole Smith's vehicle Saturday afternoon when the mace-fueled fight broke out.
She asked Smith to roll up the windows and turn on the air conditioning, but the driver refused and demanded she exit the vehicle on the side of the highway, Turner claims.
Video captured by the reporter shows how she pleaded with Smith, saying she 'just wanted a cool Uber', as the driver repeatedly said 'get out'.
Smith said she always kept the windows of her car open so passengers who felt sick could vomit out of them instead of soiling her upholstery.
'Call the cops or refund my money,' the reporter told the visibly annoyed driver.
The argument quickly became heated with Turner explaining how she 'requested a cool Uber' in the app.
'Get the f*** out of the car,' Smith yelled back, before she reached into the backseat and physically attacking Turner. 'What the f*** is wrong with you? You got no right.'
Smith, who also allegedly deployed mace as she punched Turner in the face, has been charged with battery - but maintains Turner was the aggressor in the situation.
Smith was driving northbound on I-85, after having picked Turner up from the Atlanta airport, when the argument first erupted 4pm Saturday.
They were on the curve of an exit ramp, which police say is a 'dangerous place to load and unload passengers', when Smith ordered Turner out of the car.
The reporter said she would get out once the ride was refunded, at which point Smith pepper sprayed and punched her, according to a police report obtained by WANF.
Turner tried to deploy her own mace and started scratching Smith in self-defense, the report states.
Smith allegedly tried to physically pull her out of the vehicle and the pair struggled on the side of the road.
A passerby witnessed the scene and stopped to help. Police arrived shortly thereafter.
Smith, who says she was 'covered in blood', was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The driver took to TikTok later that night to share her side of the story.
Smith claimed she was 15 minutes away from Turner's requested drop-off destination when the reporter told her 'it's hot in here'.
The driver claims 'I turned the A/C up, no questions asked', but Turner continued to complain.
She says she explained that she keeps the windows 'cracked' in case her passengers get car sick, but Turner was not satisfied by her response.
Smith further alleges Turner began to scream at her about how she was 'sweating' and had 'requested a comfort car' - a more upscale type of rideshare - but wasn't receiving that comfort-tier level service.
The driver claims she told Turner she would 'take you back to where I picked you up from' and she could then request a new ride - but that 'was not good enough for her'.
'She is going off. She is irate in the backseat - trippin!' Smith told her followers, explaining that she then pulled over and told Turner to 'get out right here'.
Smith claims this is when Turner demanded a refund, as seen in the now-viral video that the reporter had shared on her Instagram page.
The driver alleges she informed her passenger that Uber would issue the refund and reiterated once again that she needed to get out of the car.
'In what world is it acceptable to sit in a stranger's car and then try to insinuate that you feel threatened after refusing to leave what you are perceiving as a a threat?' she asked her followers.
Smith claims she flagged down another driver, asked them to call 911 and then opened the driver's side passenger door.
'She said 'b**** you think you're going to touch me?',' Smith recalled. 'No, but I actually want you to get out of the car. Can you please get out of the car? You're escalating this s*** for no reason.'
She says that's when Turner 'goes into her bag to get a weapon', prompting her to get back inside the vehicle and sit in the driver's seat.
Turner then continued to threaten her, Smith claims, so 'I proceeded to grab my mace and I maced the f*** out of her in self-defense.'
She then revealed her bruised face and swollen left eye, which was originally hidden from view, to the camera, claiming that Turner 'tried to gouge my eye out'.
Turner claims the allegations in Smith's video are not true and have caused her to receive violent threats.
'This is so hurtful that this is happening,' she said told press conference Wednesday, during which she was accompanied by her attorney.
Turner explained she wanted a 'cool ride', like she had requested in the app, and that she did not exit the vehicle because she felt unsafe doing so in traffic.
'People questioning my character because of what she's saying,' she told WSB, noting the backlash from the incident has impacted her career opportunities.
'I just wanted to go home after work and see my daughter,' she added.
Smith, however, says that she is being 'punished' even though she was 'the one that has to go to the hospital'.
'See the bruises on my body?' she told reporters. 'I have to relive this over and over and over again.'
A warrant for Smith's arrest was issued Wednesday. Smith confirmed to WSB that she would turn herself in on battery charges.
It is unclear as of Thursday if she has yet done so.
Daily Mail has approached police and Turner's attorney for comment.
Uber, in a statement, said: '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.'