Rutgers Grad Beaten Into Coma During Mexico Spring Break Trip

nypost.com:

A Rutgers University graduate on spring break in Cancun with his pals was clinging to life after he was found poolside with massive head injuries.

Joseph "Zeke" Rucker, 21, who was planning to go to law school, has been in a coma with skull fractures and bleeding on the brain from the mysterious incident on March 15.

Rucker had traveled to the hotspot with a friend to celebrate his recent graduation -- a gift from his parents.

Read the whole story: nypost.com

Comments

[taytay52]

03:08 PM on 04/02/2010

Want this stuff to stop? Kids (college kids) are notorious for going wild on Spring Break. I'm not saying he did go wild. BUT, if he was impaired by alcohol at all, this perfectly illustrates why things like this happen to college kids all the time. Doesn't make it right, but you are subject to consequences when you impair yourself.

I hope he wakes up and has no residual damage. But college kids, stop binge drinking. This happens all across our country on Easter Break and Spring Break. Graduation trips also. Can anyone say Aruba? Even Natalie Holloway's Mother admits that she didn't do a good enough job educating Natalie on the dangers that she could face if she impaired herself with drugs and alcohol, all in the name of cutting loose and having fun!

Stop the binge drinking!

[Donnat]

11:01 PM on 04/01/2010

The drug wars in Mexico are a greater threat to the U.S. than anything going on in Iraq or Afghanistan. We need to focus on this problem without turning it into a political football.

[juanjo]

08:33 PM on 04/01/2010

I travel to Mexico several times a year. The large resort areas of the country are safe as a general rule. I just returned from a two week stay in Puerto Vallarta where I have a home. All too often events like this are found to be related to alcohol and confrontations between people behaving badly, especially in the large resort areas during spring break. If as the report states this occurred on the grounds of a resort then the chances are all too likely that whomever committed this crime was a foreigner. Mexican nationals are not allowed to roam around on the grounds of the large resorts in Cancun unless they are guests or employees. I feel very bad for the family. No one should ever lose a family member in this fashion. But it is unfair to blame the death of their son on Mexico.

[Antonio518]

03:23 PM on 04/01/2010

I was raised in Mexico. I love the Mexican people with all my heart. The fact is that the Calderon regime, no different than the Bush regime, has intensified poverty to levels not seen since 1910. Mexico is now a dangerous place. I wouldn't dream of setting foot on Mexican soil again. It has been taken over by corruption, paramilitaries and paid killers. Not every place in Latin America is the same. La Habana is so peaceful it's boring. There are no gangs, no drugs, no homeless. Venezuela has violence along the Colombian border, but Caracas is fine as long as you watch your wallet. Buenos Aires is safe, although they have not been able to shake off persistent poverty. Santiago is safe, but only because the army is stationed on every corner with 3 or 4 soldiers. I don't know about other places. Para muestra un boton; A movie crew in Mexico City was trying to make a documentary on the street about violence and corruption and had all their equipment stolen!

[Sam1234567]

06:19 PM on 04/01/2010

I am from Texas, have heard these types of stories of kids in Mexico all my life. Not new, crime happens everywhere. Most of these kids could avoid this stuff, but get drunk and become targets. Granted doesn't justify it, but I could go to NY and have the same thing happen.

[Dham4201]

03:13 PM on 04/01/2010

So many ignorant Americans on this article...first of all, Cancun is on the OPPOSITE side of the Mexico from the drug routes and drug violence. It is also one of the safest places in Mexico, because like all the tourist traps in Mexico the government knows those are the places to keep safe since Mexico's (legitimate) economy relies a lot on tourism, the local people who work there know this as well. I don't see the relevance if the attacker was Mexican or White because it is highly unlikely it had ANYTHING to do with the ongoing drug war. So try and check your facts next time before coming off as ignorant xenophobic Americans again.

[Doc0976]

05:01 PM on 04/01/2010

It's not about being xenophobic and I'm sure you realize there aren't many facts available (we are dealing with the NY Post, after all).

And, if the Mexican government knows to keep certain areas safe, I would think they would exert the same level of energy on areas like Juarez, regardless of a tourist trap designation or not.

[Dham4201]

12:38 AM on 04/02/2010

People have jobs in those tourist areas, and they are also not in the middle of drug routes.

[PentaxKilla]

06:47 PM on 04/16/2010

Irony alert!

[The Notorious PDF]

02:53 PM on 04/01/2010

It sounds MUCH more likely than not that this was done by some fellow tourists. It happened in the pool area at the resort. 1) Access is controlled greatly at the big tourist resorts 2) most of the violence in Mexico is drug war related, and unless this guy was involved in a beef with some rival Mexican drug gang--which would be kind of hard to do in just a matter of a weekend trip to Cancun--I seriously doubt that they would plot to come into the resort and try to take him out. I too think it's wise not to go to Mexico right now because of everything that's going on, but from what I've read, it seems more likely that this tragic situation is the result of some likely highly intoxicated, fellow spring break revelers.

[carlgt1]

04:33 AM on 04/02/2010

yeah sounds like he got into a fight with some drunk frat boys....

[TOPCAT711]

12:54 PM on 04/01/2010

Didn't get to Cancun until I was 40 years old.
Spring Break 1965 - NYC World's Fair (a 25 cent subway ride away) - $2.00 admission.

[nomoredead]

11:35 AM on 04/01/2010

Yet nothing is said about the american pastime of watching two young men in a cage beat each others brains out on TV every night. Monkey see monkey do.

[Dham4201]

03:09 PM on 04/01/2010

One of the stupidest statements I have ever read on HP. Yes, because controlled combat sports that have their roots in the beginning of human civilization must be the root cause of drunk college students assaulting each other on spring break.

[glockman]

11:21 AM on 04/01/2010

You're assuming it was done by Mexican citizens.

[Doc0976]

11:33 AM on 04/01/2010

Your point matters in this case, but the overarching question remains. No matter who is responsible, why would anyone allow their kids to go to Mexico for vacation considering the ongoing situation down there? We have countless reports of violence and the STATE DEPARTMENT has issued travel warnings. That is seriously negligent, in my opinion.

Why not the Bahamas? Maybe Antigua? Even the Dominican Republic, for crying out loud!

[glockman]

11:35 AM on 04/01/2010

I agree with you. But I fear this will be an instant blame game on some Mexican national without any proof.

[Dham4201]

03:10 PM on 04/01/2010

Cancun is one of the safest places to go in Central America. It is just a big Americanized tourist trap, not some kind of local cultural scene. It is also on the opposite side of the country from the majority of drug violence.

[louiexiii]

10:35 AM on 04/01/2010

For going to Rutgers he doesnt seem to be too bright. Why would anyone go down there at this point?

[YankeeCanuck]

05:18 PM on 04/01/2010

Another version of "he had it coming" --that always seems to spring up.
The US has a pretty high violent crime rate as well. Not to mention the 40,000 or so traffic fatalities per year that we take for granted.

But you're right about one thing--tourists in Cancun have been targets of mugging and robbery. We simply don't know the details here. Some hotel chains in Mexico are owned by drug money as well. One never argues with "security" in those places.

[pbnyc59]

10:33 AM on 04/01/2010

My cousins refused to let their daughter go to Mexico with all the violence and recklessness going on. What were his parents thinking? I'll bet they regret that 'gift' for the rest of their lives.