The Houston woman who was left stranded in Dubai for months following a heated exchange at a car rental agency is heading back to the U.S.
Tierra Young Allen, also known as “Sassy Trucker” will transit through the United Kingdom before heading to the U.S., Radha Stirling, the head of a for-hire advocacy group called Detained in Dubai, told ABC News.
Stirling added that Allen paid a $1,360 deposit to Dubai police to clear the travel ban she faced.
It is not clear whether Allen has legal complaints against her in the UAE. Speaking to The Associated Press, the State Department confirmed Allen left Dubai, but would not indicate whether she is facing legal proceedings in the UAE.
“We take seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad,” the State Department said. “Over the past several months, the U.S. Embassy in Dubai provided consistent consular assistance on this case.”
Allen’s sticky situation all evolved in April after she got into an altercation at a car rental agency in Dubai. Before the exchange, reports say she was involved in a crash involving a rental car.
Stirling said Allen faced charges of “shouting” at an employee at the car rental agency and accused the agency employee of “raising his voice” at Allen and then led her out of the establishment in a threatening manner.
Dubai authorities refute Stirling’s account, stating that Allen slandered and defamed “an employee amidst a dispute over car rental fees.”
“The UAE has rules that strictly govern speech far beyond what’s common in Western nations,” according to ABC News. “A middle finger raised in a traffic dispute, a text message calling someone a name or swearing in public easily can spark criminal cases — something that foreign tourists who flock here may not realize until it is too late.”
The report continued: “Under Emirati law, publicly insulting another person can carry a sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine of $5,450. Disputes over rental car agency fees have seen other foreign tourists stuck in the city-state in the past as well.”
