US boxer Hannah Rapp, who in June fought for the World Boxing Council (WBC) women’s featherweight championship, was killed on Saturday while she bicycled in Texas after a motorist struck her with his car, according to authorities.
Rapp was 26, and investigators arrested a 31-year-old man identified as Charles Medina in connection with her death, the sheriff’s office of Brazos county, Texas, said in a statement.
The agency said Rapp and a fellow bicyclist were riding on a local road when Medina passed them in his car, stopped, and drove his vehicle in reverse. Medina then hit Rapp, and she was pronounced dead after emergency responders brought her to a hospital.
Brazos deputies said they booked Medina on a count of manslaughter, which Texas law defines as recklessly causing a person’s death.
While the sheriff’s office did not provide additional details, court records reported by the Texas news outlet KHOU said Medina had sped past Rapp and her boyfriend when the boyfriend raised his hands. The court records alleged that Medina slammed on his brakes, backed into Rapp and hit her so hard that she shattered the rear windshield.
Medina, when speaking later with investigators, denied hitting Rapp on purpose, said the records cited by KHOU. He allegedly told them that he believed Rapp and her boyfriend were flagging him down, so he stopped, backed up and did not see Rapp until right before hitting her, KHOU reported.
In a statement to the Guardian, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said it was “too early in the investigation [into Rapp’s death] to determine whether road rage was a factor”.
“Investigators are continuing to gather and review all available evidence, and we are awaiting the final crash report and the medical examiner’s report before making any determinations regarding the circumstances surrounding the [case],” the spokesperson’s statement said.
Word of Rapp’s death prompted tributes from her colleagues in professional boxing.
“The loss of Hannah Rapp leaves us heartbroken,” the WBC president, Mauricio Sulaimán, said in a statement. “She was an exceptional boxer, but above all, an invaluable member of our boxing family.
“We join in the grief that overwhelms her loved ones, her team, and all those who had the privilege of knowing and supporting her throughout her brilliant career.”
Rapp had registered eight victories – including five by knockout – and drawn once during her first nine pro career bouts. For her 10th outing, the Yorktown, Indiana, native challenged Tiara Brown of Fort Myers, Florida, for her world title belt in the WBC’s 126lb (57.2kg) weight class.
Brown retained her belt with a unanimous decision win at Florida’s Caribe Royal Orlando resort. Nonetheless, on Saturday, the champion wrote on social media that Rapp “was the best dance partner I have ever faced as a pro”.
“We fought a GREAT fight for the fans from the [first] bell to the last,” Brown wrote. “It was my honor to share the ring with her.”
Rapp had moved to Texas from Indiana to train about three years before her death, KHOU noted.
Medina’s bond amount was not immediately set, and he remained in custody on Sunday morning, Brazos jail records show.
Those jail records also showed prior arrests for Medina on counts such as deadly conduct by discharging a firearm, assault causing bodily injury, and reckless driving. Dispositions for those cases were not immediately available.
Medina could face between two and 20 years in prison under Texas law if eventually convicted of manslaughter in Rapp’s death.
