Video shows the moment a well-known social media influencer spewed racial abuse at an Asian driver after a minor fender bender in Los Angeles – before shoving him into oncoming traffic and assaulting others on the scene.
Oceanside native Ashley Barkis, 25, has been identified as the person in the footage – and is seen hurling insults at the unnamed man and what appears to be his family before assaulting them, alleging they hit her car.
In it, Barkis is seen striking the driver and the other witnesses after flying into a racist rage after presumably being rear-ended.
Specific details surrounding the accident, however are still shrouded. The clip, however, has gone viral – and has even resulted in a groveling apology from Barkis – in which told her followers she wished she handled the situation different.
The since-deleted statement apology was posted by Barkis to a profile where she regularly posts fitness-related content. Days before, in a clip stitched together by a TikTok user, Barkis is seen berating and assaulting the driver and other members in his group – all while questioning his status as a citizen.
Scroll down for video:
Video shows the moment a well-known social media influencer spewed racial abuse at an Asian driver after a minor fender bender in Los Angeles – before shoving him into oncoming traffic and allegedly assaulting others on the scene.
Oceanside native Ashley Barkis, 25, has been identified as the person in the clip – and is seen hurling insults at the unnamed man and his family before assaulting him. Barkis, an influencer with thousands of followers, has since apologized in a since-deleted post to Instagram
In the since-deleted statement to an Instagram where she regularly posts fitness content, Barkis told her 3,600 followers she wished she handled the situation different, citing her half-Filipino and half-Hispanic heritage
‘Where is your insurance? You hit my car!’ Barkis is seen barking in the clip, which was shared by user @sam.anthabong who at the time was unaware of Barkis’s identity.
The woman is seen yelling at the driver at the side of a highway, alongside a gray SUV and white minivan – with the latter seemingly belonging to Barkis, and parked in the front.
‘You hit my car!’ Barkis continues to yell, growing increasingly confrontational. ‘Where is your insurance? Where is your insurance?’
The woman then begins to aggressively approaching the driver with her phone out, before hurling the racist remarks – all while appearing increasingly unstable.
‘Do you have a driver’s license?’ she shouts. ‘Are you from America? Do you even have papers? Are you legal to be here?’
An accompanying text overlay in the clip, posted by a woman claiming to be a friend of a friend of the driver, remarked how he faced blows from Barkis following the racist remarks – which was also captured on film.
It shows the Asian man appearing to pull out his ID to appease Barkis – who responds by ripping it out of his hand and slapping it to the pavement.
A scuffle then ensues – though the Asian driver is seen attempting to evade what appears to be an instigating Barkis, who throws several punches.
‘Get off, dumbass!’ the influencer – who may be a sales manager at a San Diego 24 Hour Fitness, per her LinkedIn – can be heard shouting in the clip.
As she yells, the unidentified driver bends down to pick up his identification – spurring Barkis to strike him several times and eventually shove him into oncoming traffic.
The clip, reordered from one of several people watching from the sideling, then cuts to one filmed father away from a slightly elevated vantage – one that also shows Barkis physically attacking the man as he points his camera at her.
It shows the driver being pushed to the pavement while narrowly missing a passing car, as several others presumably filming the other clip look on.
At one point in the footage, the group appears to protest Barkis’s actions – causing the woman to attack them as well.
Images posted subsequently to social media show what is said to be bruises on the victims’ bodies – though those shots’ legitimacy have yet to be confirmed.
In the clip stitched together by a TikTok user Thursday – which shows two different vantages of the assault – Barkis is seen berating and physically attacking the driver and other Asian witnesses who were part of his group
The woman is seen yelling at the driver at the side of a highway, alongside a gray SUV and white minivan – with the latter seemingly belonging to Barkis, and parked in the front.
‘You hit my car!’ Barkis continues to yell, growing increasingly confrontational. ‘Where is your insurance? Where is your insurance?’
The woman then begins to aggressively approaching the driver with her phone out, before hurling the racist remarks – all while appearing increasingly unstable.
‘Do you have a driver’s license?’ she shouts in one part of the clip. ‘Are you from America? Do you even have papers? Are you legal to be here?’
An accompanying text overlay in the clip, posted by a woman claiming to be a friend of a friend of the driver, remarked how he faced blows from Barkis following the racist remarks – which was also captured on film
A scuffle then ensues – though the Asian driver is seen attempting to evade what appears to be an instigating Barkis, who throws several punches
It shows the Asian man appearing to pull out his ID to appease Barkis – who responds by ripping it out of his hand and slapping it to the pavement
‘Get off, dumbass!’ the influencer – who may be a sales manager at a San Diego 24 Hour Fitness, per her LinkedIn – can be heard shouting in the clip.
The Asian driver has yet to be identified, and appeared nonconfrontational throughout the clip
Images posted subsequently to social media show what is said to be bruises on the driver and his families’ bodies – though those shots’ legitimacy have yet to be confirmed
When asked, TikToker who posted the viral footage declined to provide additional information – after asking those on social media to help identify the woman in the clip.
They quickly obliged, unmasking the offender seen in the footage as Barkis, a young woman in San Diego who regularly posts content to both Instagram and TikTok – though the latter has since been made private.
In a post to Instagram after being identified, Barkis confirmed to be the person in the clip – while profusely apologizing and leaning on what she claimed was an interracial background.
In it, she appeared to insinuate that the group seen in the footage were the driver’s family.
’Id like to apologize to the family for any pain or grief that this encounter has brought,’ she says in her video, which is no longer available but has been archived and recirculated.
‘I would also like to apologize for any offense to the Asian community, as I am half Filipino. And I definitely don’t condone any violence or racism against anyone in this world.
She continued: ‘If I could go back and do things differently, I would. I know I look extremely aggressive and agitated in the video that’s been circling around. However, I can only take a step forward and publicly show that’s not my true character.’
Barkis went on to insist she only flew off the handle after she was unable to get a clear image of the man’s license – despite being filmed slapping it out of his hands.
‘It was extremely difficult to take any reasonable pictures of the other driver’s license, as he wasn’t necessarily holding it even reasonably still for me to take any pictures of it,’ she explained.
When asked, TikToker who posted the viral footage declined to provide additional information – after asking those on social media to help identify the woman in the clip. They quickly obliged, unmasking the offender seen in the footage as Barkis
A young woman in San Diego who regularly posts content to both Instagram and TikTok – though the latter has been made private in the aftermath of the altercation earlier this month
In a post to Instagram after being identified, Barkis confirmed to be the person in the clip – while profusely apologizing and leaning on what she claimed was an interracial background. In it, she also appeared to insinuate that the group seen in the footage were the driver’s family
Speaking to the Daily Beast, Barkis’s uncle added that ‘Ashley is brown’, claiaiming she is both ‘Hispanic and Filipino. He conceded his niece may have handled the situation poorly – but insisted she is not a racist
Police have yet to make a statement in relation to the assault or arrest Barkis. DailyMail.com has reached out to California Highway Patrol for comment
‘I hope you guys understand now that I am not at all racist. I’m just a human being who needs a little bit more practice.’
Speaking to the Daily Beast, Barkis’s uncle added that ‘Ashley is brown’, claiaiming she is both ‘Hispanic and Filipino. He conceded his niece may have handled the situation poorly – but insisted she is not a racist.
‘The frustration out of the event may have caused all that, but I know that she’s not racist,’ he said. DailyMail.com attempted to reach out to Barkis Wednesday for comment.
The Asian driver, meanwhile has yet to be identified. He appeared nonconfrontational throughout the clip.
Those who were watching from the side of the road also were of Asian descent, though it has yet to be confirmed they were the driver’s family.
Police have yet to make a statement in relation to the assault. DailyMail.com has reached out to California Highway Patrol for comment.
