Steph Claire Smith has recalled a terrifying ordeal on her daily walk which left her in tears.
The Melbourne-based fitness influencer, 29, detailed the scary moment a man behind the wheel of a white van started tailing her while she was out walking.
She recalled how she was afraid for her safety when a white van ‘drastically’ slowed down next to her, before circling and passing her again.
Speaking to her friend Laura Henshaw on their podcast KICPOD, Steph said she was crying when the driver kept driving past her and staring at her.
She shared: ‘There was one point for me, where I was walking daily and I had this route that I absolutely loved to go on at my old place where I used to live.
Steph Claire Smith has recalled a terrifying ordeal on her daily walk which left her in tears while speaking to Laura Henshaw on their podcast KICPOD
‘There was one day that kind of changed everything for me because I hadn’t thought about changing up the routes.
‘I often walked in the daytime… and I lived near busy roads, but I just didn’t think about it, to be honest. I think I was just a bit naïve to it.’
Detailing the shocking ordeal, she went on: ‘I can remember the van like it was yesterday […] It was an old white van, like a wagon, with curtains in the back window, super creepy.
‘And this guy had his window down, he was old and he stared me down in my eyes as he passed me.’
The Melbourne-based fitness influencer, 29, detailed the scary moment a man behind the wheel of a white van started tailing her while she was out walking (she is pictured on a run)
‘I looked over my shoulder and this van then did a U-turn and came past me again, slowed right down, and stared right at me as he did it,’ she added.
‘The guy did it a number of times, like three or four times. By this point, I’m crying and not wanting to make eye contact with him.’
Steph said she then called her now-husband Josh Miller and asked him to pick her up because she felt unsafe amid the ‘scary’ ordeal.
Steph said she and Josh immediately went to report the incident to the police after he picked her up, and she told how she has never walked the same route since.
Amid fears for her safety, Steph told how she phoned her now-husband Josh Miller (pictured) to come and pick her up, and they immediately went and reported the incident to the police
She said: ‘I have not walked the same route and I am constantly either calling Josh when I’m feeling (scared) or having triple-0 just ready on my phone and it’s just s***.’
Laura agreed as she fumed: ‘It just sucks. We just want to go for a run or a walk.’
The comments section was flooded with messages from women who had been through similar scary experiences as Steph’s followers sent her messages of support.
