‘Our hearts are crushed’: Hannah Rapp’s violent death sparks outpouring of grief

Hannah Rapp. Photograph: Harry Aaron/Most Valuable Promotions View image in fullscreen Hannah Rapp. Photograph: Harry Aaron/Most Valuable Promotions ‘Our hearts are crushed’: Hannah Rapp’s violent death sparks outpouring of grief Family and boxing community grieving deeply after Rapp was killed by motorist while she was cycling in Texas The violent death of the US boxer Hannah Rapp , whom authorities say was killed recently by a motorist while she cycled, has left her sport, her communities outside the ring and her loved ones grieving deeply just weeks after she took her first world title shot. A statement from the Bryan Boxing gym where Rapp trained in Texas commemorated her as “an amazing lady and soul” while the Aggieland Cycling club to which she belonged recalled how her “kindness and excitement for life [buoyed] all who knew her”. “A beautiful person and a brilliant boxer is how she will be remembered by all of us,” read a social media post from Most Valuable Promotions, which promoted Rapp’s 13 June 2026 bout against the World Boxing Council (WBC) women’s featherweight boxing champion, Tiara Brown. “[Rapp] went to war and smiled right after.” US boxer Hannah Rapp struck and killed by driver while cycling, police say Read more Such condolences poured in after Rapp, 26, and her boyfriend went bicycling on the morning of 18 July and encountered a hatchback car on a highway in Navasota, Texas . The driver, identified as 31-year-old Charles Medina, then sped past the couple from behind, investigators with the local Brazos county sheriff’s office later wrote in a sworn affidavit. Rapp’s boyfriend responded to the maneuver by raising his hands and yelling, at which point Medina slammed his brakes, skidded to a stop and accelerated in reverse, the affidavit alleged. Medina ultimately hit Rapp so forcefully that his “rear windshield was shattered completely”, investigators wrote. He also allegedly left skidmarks from having “rapidly accelerated backwards” as well as apparently “steering towards something while backing up”, according to the legal document. Emergency responders found Rapp unresponsive and lying face down in the roadway, the affidavit said. She was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital. An investigator who spoke to Medina at the scene reported that the driver claimed to believe Rapp and her boyfriend were flagging him down as he passed them on his way to pick up his mother. He allegedly said he was backing up at a slow speed of about 15mph and didn’t see Rapp until an instant before striking her. But “the physical evidence on scene, including skid marks, the severity of damage to the vehicle and the victim’s final resting position contradicted [Medina’s] account,” the affidavit said. In a statement to the Guardian, the sheriff’s office declined to say that it was treating Rapp’s death as an instance of road rage, explaining that the case remained under investigation. The agency nonetheless booked Medina on a count of manslau