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Dream anniversary vacation to Cabo San Lucas turns 'horrific' after man dragged by car

Posted at 8:55 PM, Jul 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-06 11:09:26-04

A wedding anniversary trip to Cabo San Lucas turned into a nightmare for one man, ending with him in a San Diego hospital.

Willy Rookard and his wife Christy arrived to Cabo late June to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with a big group of family and friends.

Two nights into their trip, a photo shows the couple, their daughter and a friend at a Cantina. Hours later, after midnight, they left and began walking towards their resort along a busy street.

A silver car with two men both about 30 years old, stopped in front of them.

“They pulled over right near the curb. They rolled down their window and in English, they asked us where we were going,” said Christy Rookard.

She says they continued walking and the car left, but returned two more times in 10 minutes.

“I didn't know what their plan was and I started to get scared,” said their daughter, Alexis Rookard, 19.

Christy says she became even more alarmed when Willy hinted at the men's motives after arguing with them.

“He didn’t want to tell us what they said, but did say they were referencing us women,” said Christy.

The men drove off and then reappeared again several minutes later.

Christy says when she turned around, she saw her husband's arms inside the passenger window, unable to get loose, because the men were holding onto his arms.

 The car started moving. For more than 10 seconds, the car sped up, dragging Willy, before they released him.

“He fell like a limp doll and dropped to the pavement. He was unconscious and there was blood everywhere,” said Christy.

Willy was rushed to a hospital in San Diego with a collapsed lung and severe brain injury.

Nine days later, he is making progress. He’s able to repeat words when asked to. It's too early to tell if he will make a full recovery,

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help with the medical expenses for Willy, who lives in Sequim, west of Seattle.