Teen Punched Near Rutgers Still In Coma, Family Asks For Help With Medical Bills

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The family of a woman who is in a coma after being punched near Rutgers have set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses.

Emily Rand, 19, was at a house party near Rutgers on Oct. 29 when she got into a fight with an unidentified man. In a video posted to Snapchat, Rand can be seen hitting the man, who then punches her, knocking her to the ground. The fall left her with brain bleeding, a fractured skull and a concussion.

"She has not made any progress yet," Emily's aunt, Debbie O'Connor, told Patch. "She is still unresponsive and remains on a ventilator in the Pediatric ICU @ RWJ-NB."

So far, $1,902 has been raised, with a goal of $5,000.

According to the GoFundMe, a dollar bill sized piece of Rand's skull was removed on Nov. 3, to help relieve pressure on her brain.

Police have not yet identified the man who hit Rand, but he can be seen in this Snapchat video uploaded to YouTube (warning: foul language can be heard in the video). O'Connor told Patch that, as far as she is aware, no progress has been made in finding the man.

O'Connor told NJ 101.5 that although Rand threw a first punch, it was not quite what it seemed.

“I was told by a friend that there was a scuffle that broke out. The guys were calling her and her friends names like ‘whore’ and ‘slut.’ She took offense to it and yes she went around and slapped a couple of the guys. They held back. I don’t know if she even hit this guy and he just whaled off and punched her,” O’Connor told the radio station.

Rand, a student at Middlesex Community College, was at Rutgers to attend a party. She works as a waitress at the Macaroni Grill in Edison, and was spoken highly of by friends.

"Emily is just a very, very strong girl. She is filled with energy and she loves to have fun, enjoy life and experience new things," Devin Henriquez, a close friend of Rand's, told Patch. "She's always been a person I can trust. A person I know will be there for me if needed and she's overall just such a great human being."

Friends of Rand's, including Henriquez, have been vocal on social media, asking for donations and prayers.

It's your turn now beautiful please wake up cause I miss you @_EmilyRand pic.twitter.com/PYRjxFs0YI
— D. (@_DevinHenriquez) November 6, 2016

haven't stopped thinking about you for a second, it's time to wake up we all miss you @_EmilyRand
— Katie (@ktlindley_) November 6, 2016

Imu & times like these wake up pretty its been a week since youve been in the hospital just wake up @_EmilyRand pic.twitter.com/FersPQJeuv
— Elizabeth Dennis (@Elizabethx312) November 5, 2016

You can click here to donate to Rand's GoFundMe.

Image via GoFundMe