Atlanta Sports Reporter Claims She Was Pepper Sprayed and Attacked By Her Uber Driver. But the Driver Tells a Different Story

Authorities are investigating an altercation between a sports reporter and her Uber driver.

According to NBC News, Tabitha Turner, a reporter for NBA’s Hawks and WNBA’s Dream, was traveling home from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Saturday, June 21, when the alleged incident occurred after an argument about the temperature of the car.

Mericole Smith, the Uber driver in question, has reportedly been charged with misdemeanor battery and simple battery over the alleged altercation, which took place around 3:40 p.m, according to Fox 5. Smith claims she is not the aggressor.

This comes after Turner’s cell phone video showed Smith attacking Turner with pepper spray in the car.

According to NBC News, Turner’s attorney, Miguel Dominguez claims that his client requested Uber comfort and after Turner asked for the windows to be rolled up and the air conditioning to be turned on amid the hot weather, Turner claims Smith escalated the situation.

PEOPLE has contacted the Hapeville Police and Smith for comment.

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“The driver did not respond verbally, but she did put the air conditioner on, but she did not roll the windows up. And so as the ride went on, the vehicle obviously did not cool off,” he said. “My client was really hot, she was sweaty, she addressed the driver again, asking that the windows be rolled up. The response she got from the driver was not kind and was not friendly. The driver was clearly irritated by, I guess, the demands of a passenger.”

The attorney then claimed that Smith pulled over and ordered the passenger to leave the car in an emergency lane on the expressway.

According to Dominguez, Turner refused to leave the vehicle, stating that she would only exit if her ride was refunded, per NBC News and Fox 5.

Turner claims that Smith then allegedly pepper sprayed and assaulted her. Per NBC News, Dominguez also claimed that some of Turner’s hair was pulled out by Smith.

A police report also allegedly suggested that Turner scratched Smith in self defense, according to NBC News.

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However, Smith told a different story, claiming in a June 22 TikTok video that Turner began yelling despite her turning the air conditioning on and leaving her windows “cracked” slightly.

“That was not good enough for her,” Smith said in the clip. “She is going off. She is irate in the back seat, tripping, so I pull over. I’m like, ‘Actually, yeah, I’m going to need you to get out right here.’ So I pull over in Hapeville, we’re off the highway.”

She then claimed she told Turner that she would get a refund from Uber before adding that the passenger then went “in her bag to get a weapon.”

“So I proceeded to grab my mace and I maced the f— out of her in self defense,” Smith said in the TikTok. “Because if you’re gonna be behind me with a weapon and insinuate that you’re gonna harm me, I’m gonna act in my best interest.”

The Uber driver went on to state that Turner tried “to gouge” her eye out, adding that she had to have stitches as a result. She showed the alleged injuries she says she sustained from Turner in the video.

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Speaking about the video, per 11Alive, Turner said she received a lot of backlash after Smith’s TikTok.

“They’ve flooded my social media with threats,” she said. “They’ve reached out to people I work with and work for.”

“I just wanted to go home and see my daughter,” Turner said through tears at a press conference on Wednesday, June 25.

However, Smith added, “This is what I do for work. This is how I’m paying to go to school. I would never attack any passenger who has ever gotten into my car. I just wanted her to get out of the car.”