Berliner Tageblatt - Chelsea star Kerr 'feared for my life' during taxi ride

The Australia international is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to police officer Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.

It is alleged Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver who complained the pair had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them smashed the vehicle's rear window.

Kerr told a jury at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday that she had put her head out of the window when she began to feel sick before the driver "rolled it up" and began to "drive dangerously".

She added the dangerous driving continued for 15 to 20 minutes, saying: "I was terrified for my life. Everything was going through my mind about being in a car with a stranger I deemed to be dangerous. There was no reasoning with him. It was his way or nothing.

"Kristie asked him to stop the car but there was no change to his driving. We had no idea where we were.

"Kristie was very distressed. She was crying and scared. I've never seen her like that before and it made me more scared.

"I started to realise how serious the situation was. It put me in protective mode... he had the power over us... I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving, but also because he could have taken us anywhere."

Kerr said the pair tried to open the doors and windows several times, but they remained locked.

Mewis eventually "kicked out (the window) with her boot" which led Kerr to feel "relieved", but she added: "We didn't get out straight away as the car was still moving."

On Tuesday, the court was told Lovell first saw Kerr as she crawled through the smashed taxi window outside the station.

A "heated" discussion about the incident ensued between Kerr and the police, during which she allegedly became "abusive and insulting" towards Lovell, calling him "stupid and white".

Kerr made her debut for current Women's Super League champions Chelsea in 2020. She is currently out of action with a knee injury.

L.Janezki--BTB