New Jersey tourist is left battered and bruised after being attacked in Turks and Caicos by local 'taxi driver' who offered her a ride back to her resort

An American tourist was forced to fight for her life after she was brutally attacked during a taxi ride back to her resort in the Caribbean, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

Suyapa Ramos, 48, now fears she will lose sight in her left eye and partial hearing  after being repeatedly bludgeoned on the head by suspect, 29-year-old local Davidson Martin. 

The mom, from Jersey City, New Jersey, had traveled abroad for the first time earlier this month to celebrate her birthday in the tropical Turks and Caicos Islands with a friend. 

But what had started off as the perfect paradise vacation ended up turning into a 'complete nightmare' when she decided to accept a ride back to her hotel from a 'part-time' cab driver on the final night of her trip. 

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Ramos described 'fighting for her life' and feeling like she was going to die at the hands of her attacker as she recounted the violent assault. 

'He was beating me on my left side with his fists, growling like an animal, and telling me to die,' she said. 

Fighting back tears, she added: 'As it was happening, I couldn't believe that this was how my life was going to end. I couldn't believe that my life was going to end through violence. And I was fighting for my very life.'

Suyapa Ramos, 48, was left bruised and battered after being assaulted by a local 'taxi driver' during her trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands earlier this month

The suspected attacker, Davidson Martin, 29, (pictured) was arrested by The Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force and charged with one count of grievous bodily harm, but was later released on bond

Ramos has also claimed that local reports have failed to identify the victim of the assault as a tourist, which she believes is an attempt to protect the island's tourism industry. 

'The local police and local media are just saying 'a woman' was attacked. They don't say it was an American tourist,' she added, 

Ramos had innocently blundered into the potentially deadly nightmare when she left her resort to grab some food at one of the tourist haunts in the Grace Bay area of Providenciales island on March 9 around 9:30pm.

She was accompanied by a platonic male friend, who had treated her to what should have been an idyllic break in the British overseas territory but that ended in terror and life-changing injuries.

After the meal, the man – who Ramos did not wish to name – decided to hit a nearby casino, leaving her to wait for him in the popular Cielo cocktails and music bar because she didn't want to spend the night gambling.

However, she said her friend did not return to pick her up and it was past midnight on Sunday March 10 when she realized she needed to make her own way back to her resort.

Ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft are not available on the island and privately owned taxis only operate during specific business hours. 

'I asked a bartender and he said, there's no taxis running that late. He offered to take me when he finished work, but then another guy approached and sat next to me,' said Ramos.

'He started talking with me and chatting to the bar staff. Everybody there knew him. They were laughing and joking – and he was telling them, whatever she wants don't charge her.

'He said, you're looking for a ride back to your resort? And he added, well I do taxi on the side, I can take you. Everybody seemed to know him and I said, OK. Thinking, he's a part time taxi driver.'

Ramos, originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, said she suffered extensive damage to her left eye, left side of her face, and hearing in one of her ears and now requires serious medical care and surgery 

In photos shared with DailyMail.com showed her battered head and face, which required 10 stitches, as well as scratches and bruises to her hands and legs 

The tourist had spent her final night at local bar Cielo (pictured) while her male friend who had accompanied on the trip was gambling at a casino

Still not sensing the danger, Ramos got into the 'taxi' and the man drove off. 

But a few minutes later he said he need to stop at his apartment to get some marijuana, she said.

'I really needed the restroom and so I asked if I could use his real quick,' Ramos continued. 'We got upstairs and I guess he started smoking his weed.

'As I was coming out of the bathroom, instantly he attacked me. He just grabbed me and forced me into a bedroom and up against a bed.

'He kept smashing his fist into the left side of my head while growling like an animal and telling me to die. 

'I was desperately trying to defend myself, trying to cover my head and my face – because I was afraid of being unconscious.

'Even when all this was suddenly going on, I realized that if I blacked out it could have been the end. 

'I don't know if he was trying to sexually assault me because this just happened out of nowhere. He was relentlessly pummeling me.'

Ramos sustained other injuries to her abdomen and legs while trying to ward off the blows, before breaking free and heading for the apartment's front door.

'I just ran. I ran and ran and ran. I think I flew down a staircase because I don't remember going down the steps. I just know I ended up on street level with him chasing me.

'He was yelling, but I'd got a few yards on him. I ran through grass and then some gravel before coming to a road. I didn't know where I was heading, but I saw car lights and made for them.

A few vehicles passed me then one stopped and two angels saved me. I saw the look of horror on their faces, so I knew I must look pretty bad.'

After Ramos (pictured before her ordeal) managed to escape her attacker's clutches, two kind strangers found her and rushed her to the hospital for emergency treatment 

The mom has set up a Gofundme page to try to help with mounting medical bills from the attack and issued a warning about potential dangers abroad 

Her saviors were two Latino men who rushed her to the hospital for emergency treatment for the horror, revealed in exclusive DailyMail.com photos showing her battered head and face, which needed 10 stitches.

'I don't know the identities of the two men who saved me, but I thank them from the bottom of my heart,' said Ramos, whose injuries have prevented her returning to work as a hospital patient coordinator.

She was fortunately able to return home to New Jersey the following day. 

'I lost the vision in my left eye and I still can't see through it,' she said.

 'I have just come from an eye doctor appointment in Jersey City and I've been told I need surgery for a muscle tear in the socket.

'I'm also still unable to hear through my left ear. I've no idea if that is going to change. This was a horrific thing to happen and on top of that I'm currently unable to work.'

Ramos also issued a stark warning to tourists unfamiliar with their surroundings, saying: 'Please, please be aware of who tries to befriend you.

'Be aware of what's around you, all the potential dangers. I was singled out because I appeared to be a woman on her own. But this kind of thing could happen to anybody.

'I never want something like this to happen to another woman, or any other tourist – and where ever.'

The suspected attacker, Davidson Martin, was arrested by The Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force and charged with one count of grievous bodily harm. 

He is described as from Grand Turk, another island in the chain.

But Ramos revealed: 'Officers have told me he was released on a $10,000 bond. I find it incredible he was let out. They also want me to send any medical paperwork so they can present it to the prosecutor.

'This was my first time ever using a passport and this happened. I'm not deterred from using it again, but I will be more cautious.'

Turks and Caicos police refused to give DailyMail.com details of the case against Martin saying it was 'ongoing'. 

However, we can reveal he appeared before a magistrates on March 15, where he was freed on bond to appear at the island chain's supreme court on May 3.

He did not enter a plea because the offense is indictable and must be heard at the higher court.

Of Ramos's platonic friend, she said: 'It's fair to say we are no longer friends. I don't want to do into details, but I think he could have behaved differently.'

The mom has set up a Gofundme page to try to help with mounting medical bills from the attack, in which she says: 'Be careful where you travel to because paradise can turn into a nightmare.'

'Opportunistic' muggings and armed robberies are 'somewhat common' on the islands, according to the Turks and Caicos tourism website. 

And walking at night, particularly outside the central Grace Bay area, is 'not advisable'.

It adds that 'establishments that operate late into the night and early morning… have a greatly increased risk of crime, altercations, and physical violence, especially outside of the Grace Bay area'.

Meanwhile, an internal British Foreign Office investigation in 2022 reportedly revealed a murderous turf war between drug gangs that engulfed the islands in extreme violence. 

According to The Guardian, there were 31 deaths between rival gangs in the conflict by 2022, compared with four in 2017.