How Hannah Rapp's life and bright boxing future ended on a Texas road
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- Hannah Rapp, a 26-year-old professional boxer who had gone 10 rounds with WBC featherweight champion Tiara Brown in June, was killed on July 18 on FM 159 outside College Station when Charles Eric Medina allegedly reversed his 2008 Honda into her after nearly clipping her cyclist boyfriend, shattering the rear window.
- Medina, 31, told police he thought the cyclists were trying to flag him down and didn't see Rapp "until the last moment," but officers noted reverse skid marks "appeared as if [the driver] was steering towards something while backing up."
- Rapp had overcome an eating disorder triggered by pandemic-era cuts to her Purdue track walk-on spot, turned to boxing as therapy, and signed a promotional deal with Texas Combat Sports — her coach Carl Perry said she "fought, toe-to-toe, with the No. 1 woman in the world."
- Medina had racked up roughly 50 police encounters over eight years, including a 2024 arrest in which he allegedly waved a hatchet and machete at passing cars and fired a handgun at police drones; a court-ordered psychological evaluation followed, but he was released two days later.
- At Medina's bail hearing, Judge John Brick set bond at $500,000 for aggravated assault and $250,000 for manslaughter — combined with other counties, Medina's outstanding bail exceeds $1 million — calling him "a danger to himself... a danger to the public... a serious flight risk."
- At the scene, coach Carl Perry had to be physically restrained by officers from going after Medina, repeatedly pleading: "Don't y'all let this motherf---er go home tonight."
Why it matters: The case spotlights a recurring criminal-justice pattern: Medina cycled through arrests — including a hatchet-and-gun standoff — and was repeatedly released on bond within days, with Judge Brick now explicitly citing that history as grounds to keep him detained before trial.
