"One minute I'm in this nice restaurant, and the next minute I'm waking up, coming out of a severe coma in the ER, not knowing how I got there," Burke says. "It was absolutely terrifying."
She eventually pieced together what happened: After drinks, this individual brought her back to her apartment complex. They stayed in his car for more than an hour until 911 was called. Paramedics arrived and found Burke incoherent, vomiting, her shirt askew and breasts exposed. The acquaintance didn't stick around.
Burke believes this person assaulted her.
In recounting this painful event to a friend, who is also a lawyer, her friend had a stark warning: Don't say this person's name or publicly accuse him of assault.
"'He could sue you for defamation,'" Burke says she remembered her friend saying.
Burke was shocked — and angry.