Anjali Ramkissoon, the Indo-American woman from Miami, was not charged after attacking an Uber driver on Jan. 17. After this video of the attack surfaced, she was identified as a fourth-year neurology resident within the Jackson Health System and has been removed from clinical duties pending investigation. “I see a person that is not me,” she told ABC News anchor George George Stephanopoulos. “I’m ashamed. I still can’t watch the entire video. ”
MIAMI – An Indo-American doctor from Florida who was caught on camera hitting, kicking and screaming profanities at an Uber driver has apologized for her behavior and says the incident left her feeling “ashamed.”
Anjali Ramkissoon delivered her apology on the set of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” where the fourth-year neurology resident with the Jackson Health System also discussed how the incident has hurt family members, embarrassed friends and placed her hard-earned career in jeopardy, reported Washington Post.
Ramkissoon has been placed on administrative leave from her job and removed from all clinical duties; hospital officials have launched an internal investigation.
“I see a person that is not me,” she told ABC News anchor George George Stephanopoulos. “I’m ashamed. I still can’t watch the entire video. ”
“Every time someone brings it up or tries to ask me what was happening at this point, I can’t,” she added.
Ramkissoon told Stephanopoulos that prior to the video she’d was “extremely stressed out” and having “one of the worst days of her life,” one that set the stage for her epic, on-camera meltdown. In addition to her father being placed in the hospital, she said she’d broken up with her boyfriend of two years several minutes earlier. She knew she’d had too much to drink, she said, so she left her car and tried to get an Uber to take her home.
“Everything you said sounds pretty bad, but you know it’s no excuse, right?” the anchor asked.
“There’s absolutely no excuse for my action.,” Ramkissoon responded. “I’m ashamed.”
She continued: “I’ve hurt so many people with this — my family, my friends, my job, the Uber Driver. Nobody deserves to be treated that way. That’s not me.”
The video begins when the doctor gets in someone else’s Uber and begins to confront the driver after he refuses to take her home.
A narrative published with the video — which has not been verified by authorities — claims the Uber driver pulled up to accept one or more passengers when the woman allegedly got into the car and refused to leave. It states the people he was to pick up told him it was fine, but he did not want to drive the woman.
ABC News reported that the video was filmed and later posted on YouTube by the customer who originally ordered the Uber.
During her appearance on “Good Morning America,” Ramkissoon said that she is “grateful” that the driver declined to press charges against her.
“We actually settled while we were out there,” she noted. “I paid for the damages and I apologized to him and he accepted my apology. I’m so thankful that he did not press charges, that he did not have me arrested.”
Ramkissoon said she’s received messages telling her to commit suicide. She said her family has been targeted with hateful messages and had their address leaked online. All she can do now, she said, is take responsibility for her actions and hope her mistake serves as a warning for others.
“I did it, and I’m ashamed of what I did, and this would never happen again,” she said. “At the same time, I think that I should also speak out to send a message out to people and the public to be careful and use my story as a lesson to be careful what you do in public because the things that we do can be taped, and we can have to suffer severe ramifications for these things.”
