BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas (KRHD) — Man pleads not guilty in death of professional boxer Hannah Rapp, killed while cycling in JulShort headline
Watch the full story here:
Charles Eric Medina faces murder and aggravated assault charges in the death of Hannah Rapp, whose case has spurred a proposed "Hannah's Law" safe passing ordinance.
The man accused of killing local professional boxer Hannah Rapp has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
On Friday, Charles Eric Medina appeared in court, where his new attorney entered a plea on the charges. The state charged Medina with murder in count one and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in count two.
"We'll waive the indictment reading judge and plead not guilty," said W. Jay Dedrick III, Medina's defense attorney.
"OK. Plea of not guilty will be entered for count one and count 2," said John Brick, the 272nd District judge.
It was July 18 when Rapp and her fiance, Will Pollalis, were riding their bikes on a local farm to market road. Police say they were nearly struck by a vehicle that then stopped, changed into reverse and ran into Rapp, who later died from her injuries.
Since her death, Rapp's family and friends have pushed to have a safe passing law enacted. At a recent College Station City Council meeting, Rapp's mother spoke via Zoom, and her words carried a lot of weight.
"I had a sense after she spoke, uh, that there wasn't, um, any other way for counsel to, to vote. So I think the testimony of family members, um. in this process was extremely important," said Robert Rose, a local cyclist.
Carl Perry, Rapp's coach, told me that not having a safe place to ride was a concern of Rapp's.
"She had always mentioned that there wasn't really a, a good place to ride, and I've even heard Will mention there was not really a good area to ride without almost being in traffic, stuff like that," said Perry.
City Council agreed to drafting a new safe passing ordinance, allowing 3 feet of space for a passenger vehicle and 6 feet for a commercial vehicle. It is expected to be called Hannah's Law.
"So this is a big step for it. For this to actually come in and actually become a part of the city ordinance, I think it's gonna be a great thing," said Perry.
Medina is expected back in court in December for a status hearing.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.