San Diego life coach, Cassandra Light, was shot twice and thrown from her car during an attempted carjacking in Tijuana, Mexico, about a month ago while driving home from a beach getaway in Rosarito with her golden retriever, Ellie, according to a GoFundMe page detailing the attack.
Light said a gunman opened fire on her car as her tried to steal it, striking the car and her body multiple times, while Ellie remained inside. One round tore through Light’s side window and exited through the passenger door, according to the page.
A second bullet hit Light’s lower leg. The impact threw Light from her car into the street, according to the post. The GoFundMe page reads:
“One bullet entered through my driver’s side window, traveled through my car, and exited through the passenger door. A second bullet went through my lower leg, shattering both my tibia and fibula before exiting the other side hitting my ankle. I was then thrown from my vehicle out into the street…”
— Cassandra Light, Gofundme
According to Light’s account, it was a moment of shock overriding the pain. She noted the adrenaline masked the severity of her injuries until she looked up and saw her dog still inside the car.
Light stated that she tried to run towards her dog, but immediately went down as she was heavily bleeding in the street with a shattered leg and no way to reach her dog on her own. She said she began calling out Ellie’s name from where she lay.
“It was when I looked up and realized, ‘Oh my God… Ellie’s still in the backseat of the car.’ Her little face peaking out of the drivers side back window. When I tried to run to her I collapsed realizing all the bones in my leg had been completely broken by the gunshot and I had no ability to walk. Thankfully, I kept yelling her name and she jumped out of the window and ran to me.”
— Cassandra Light, Gofundme
Light highlights Ellie’s exceptional composure during emergency medical transits across the border and notes that hospital staff were so moved by the dog’s impact that they suggested certifying her for professional therapy work.
She said, “Ellie rode with me in the ambulance from the crime scene to the hospital in Tijuana, where folks at the ER cared for her at the ambulance entrance while I underwent surgery. She then traveled with me across the border in another ambulance to San Diego, where she patiently waited while I underwent additional emergency surgery. The EMTs, nurses, and hospital staff continually commented on her calm, gentle presence. They encouraged me to have her trained and certified as a therapy dog.”
Light was in a trauma center for 10 days and had four surgeries. Her car is apparently still in a Tijuana evidence lot. This has resulted in hefty storage fees while her attorney tries to have it released. As of the time of writing, Light’s GoFundMe page shows that she has raised $4,060 toward her $8,000 fundraising goal.
The US State Department has a Level 3 ‘Reconsider Travel’ disclaimer for Baja California, which includes Tijuana. The advisory notes of armed carjackings, kidnapping, and violent crime, the exact crimes that Light faced. The San Diego woman didn’t mention whether Mexican authorities had made any arrests in connection with the shooting as of yet.
Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public record.
