Exclusive: Beaten Florida Cheerleader Speaks Out

Nov. 10, 2008— -- In her first interview since she became the victim of a brutal beating by a group of teenage girls, 17-year-old Victoria Lindsay told "Good Morning America" she thought she was "going to die" on the night of the horrifying attack.

Tune in to "Good Morning America" on Monday, Nov. 10 to see the full interview.

On March 30 in Polk Co., Fla., Lindsay was invited to a former friend's house where she was allegedly ambushed by six other teenage girls and beaten so viciously that at one point she lost consciousness and later had to be treated in a hospital for injuries. The attack reportedly lasted more than 30 minutes.

A video of the attack, which was released by the Polk County Sheriffs Department, shows Lindsay literally backed into a corner and attempting to cover her head while the girls alternate pummeling her and yelling at her.

"What am I going to do?" she told "Good Morning America." "I thought I was going to die, honestly. I couldn't fight back. There was too many of them. So my only thought was just to protect myself and not to hit back and try to move, like, away when they were punching."

But Lindsay was unable to avoid the blows and suffered a concussion and injuries to her left eye and left ear. One girl reportedly slammed her head into a wall until she lost conscioussness.

"It's really unreal for me, how my friends could turn on me... and do that to me," she said.

That night, her parents, Patrick and Talisa Lindsay, received a call from the hospital and got the horrifying news.

When he got to the hospital, Patrick told "Good Morning America" he did not recognize his daughter.

"When I stepped into the room the nurse said she was at, I peeked around the curtain and seen a girl laying there in pretty bad shape and I left the room," he said. "I didn't know it was her."

Patrick said she was huddled in the corner of her bed with her knees drawn up towards her chest.

"Then I heard her crying as I was walking out of the room, cause she seen me, and I went back in and just sat on the foot of the bed and put my arm on her leg because I was afraid to touch her. I was afraid that I would hurt her because she was... she was beat up pretty good."

"I didn't know what to say," he said. "Words failed me at that moment."

Lindsay's parents' outrage and torment was made worse when the video of Lindsay's beating played on television and Web sites around the world.

"I was angry," Talisa said while fighting back tears. "How could somebody do that to my little girl? And how could people walk away feeling good about it? Videotaping it and thinking it's funny and hilarious. It's not funny."

Lasting Wounds

Seven months later, Lindsay still feels the physical effects of the attack.

"My ears are fine," she said. "It kind of felt like something was stuck in it after a while, but that went away eventually. The only thing I don't like is... my eye. It's still kind of blurry. But I think glasses may help that."

More than any physical reminders, Lindsay's emotional scarring was intense and her ability to trust has suffered.

"It knocks it down and it breaks it apart," she said. "And it's hard for me. I get kind of scared when I'm in situations where I don't know certain people. And when I see people fighting, it really angers me."

Lindsay is unsure why the girls decided to attack her.

"I was thinking, 'what did I do to them for them to do this to me?'... I thought it had a lot to do with jealousy at the time. A lot of it had to do with boys," she said. "I didn't have any explanation why, and I really still don't. But I'm hoping to find out."

Some of the girls said the incident occured in retaliation for Lindsay's trash-talking and threatening them online. Lindsay denies the accusation.

In April eight teens were arrested and charged with kidnapping and misdemeanor battery charges.

Only five of the teens are currently charged, and they have all pleaded not guilty.