Metro

Rutgers grad in coma after being ‘beaten up’ during recent trip to Mexico

MIAMI — A Rutgers University graduate on vacation in Mexico suffered a crushing head injury that has left him in a coma.

Joseph “Zeke” Rucker, 21, was flown to Miami after he was beaten and severely injured while on vacation with his friends two weeks ago at an ocean-front resort in sunny Cancun.

“It’s apparent that there was some random act of violence,” the young man’s father, Joe Rucker, told CBS affiliate Channel 4 in Miami.

Rucker, who lives in Sewell, NJ, traveled to Cancun to celebrate his graduation from Rutgers despite a State Department warning about rising violence in Mexico.

Drug violence has claimed more than 17,900 lives across Mexico since December 2006.

It is not known whether the attack on Rucker is related to the rise in murders and other crimes in Mexico.

Rucker’s mother, Annie, said a hotel security guard found her son “with his skull bashed in.”

The parents said Rucker suffered two fractures to the back of his skull. They don’t believe the injuries could have been caused by an accident.

Rucker was in a Mexican hospital before he was flown to Miami for further treatment.

“Where he was found, there was no place for him to fall from. There wasn’t a balcony. He was found in a soft, grassy area,” his mother said.

She said she thought her son would be safe in Cancun because it’s a popular tourist destination for Americans.

“It’s heartbreaking,” his mother said. “His eyes are open, but not focused. We don’t know if he even recognizes us.”

Rucker was slated to start law school in the fall.

“We’re just waiting to wake up from the worst nightmare of our life,” said Rucker’s mother.

With AP