Goliad High School Varsity Cheerleader Accused of Pinning Student Between Cars, Punished With Only ISS as Victim Alleges Knee Injury
According to multiple accounts shared publicly, the incident occurred as student Trinity Popps was loading her belongings into a vehicle after school.
December 12, 2026
This article was last updated by Alisha Shrestha on December 11, 2026
A Goliad High School parking lot incident has prompted widespread community debate after a varsity cheerleader, who also holds the title of Miss Goliad, was accused of pinning a fellow student between two vehicles, resulting in injury.
The victim’s family says the school district failed to take the situation seriously, issuing only a three-day in-school suspension (ISS) to the student responsible.
According to multiple accounts shared publicly, the incident occurred as student Trinity Popps was loading her belongings into a vehicle after school.
Witnesses claim another student, also a member of the Goliad High School varsity cheer team, pulled her vehicle forward and allegedly pinned Popps between the two cars while bystanders shouted for her to stop.
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The driver then reportedly “drove off laughing,” a claim repeated in several online discussions.
Popps says her knee was injured when the vehicle pressed her legs between the bumpers, later stating that her patella had shifted and bruising developed.
Despite this, she says her first instinct was to seek out her cheer coach to report the situation, before eventually bringing her concerns to Principal Charles Henke and Superintendent Holly Lyon.
According to the , administrators assigned the student driver three days of ISS and required her to write an apology letter addressed to “Miss Goliad Court,” the group for which the accused student currently holds a title.
Popps says she felt dismissed during conversations with administrators, claiming they told her they would “believe her more” if she had recorded the incident or immediately called emergency services.
She says her hesitation to call 911 stemmed from a long history of medical trauma and hospital experiences.
Her parents, Bobby and Linda Popps, soon escalated the matter, filing a grievance with the Goliad Independent School District.
The grievance advanced to level three before being rejected by the school board, a decision the family says demonstrates a failure of leadership and disregard for student safety.
Linda Popps says she intends to continue filing grievances and may request the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to intervene and review how the district handled the incident.
Bobby Popps publicly stated he would like to see both the superintendent and principal relieved of their duties.
The situation erupted into a heated discussion on , where residents voiced divided opinions.
Stephanie Liendo, a graduate of Victoria College, acknowledged the seriousness of the incident but urged the community to avoid escalating tensions. She ,
. “It’s a very unfortunate situation on both sides,” she wrote. “If that were me, I would have called my mom who would have called 911 on the spot… But it’s not fair to punish someone for what could have been or to teach them a lesson over what wasn’t.”
Liendo also noted the accused student’s extensive list of accomplishments, including serving as Miss Goliad, mentoring youth cheer squads, participating in state pageants, performing in the Disney parade multiple times, and creating a local mentorship program known as The Big Sister Project.
Comenter Emili Boniface pushed back strongly, ,
There were multiple witnesses and medical records though. Just because someone does good things doesn’t mean they can’t do bad things too. Kids will make mistakes that can affect the rest of their lives.
Another resident, Patricia Belcher, noted that the victim’s family had already spoken publicly about the incident on local television, saying,
The family of the victim was on The Victoria News last night.
Others shared practical advice. Joe Valderrama ,
Call police and file a claim against the driver’s insurance
Some residents defended the Popps family’s frustration, including Rose Camacho, who wrote,
Stephanie if it would’ve been Trinity who had done this to Ms Goliad im sure the family of that girl would’ve had filed charges against Trinity but no nothing was done to that young girl that the damage ifvthat was my child i would be mad as hell and made sure that charges would be filed against that young girl lady that is my child she put in danger she could have hurt her or killed her because she wanted to play a dumb joke there’s consequences for that
But Liendo maintained her position, expressing concern over what she sees as a rush to public judgment.
As of now, Goliad ISD has not publicly addressed the grievances or the community controversy surrounding the incident.
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Rohit Maharjan is a skilled content writer and editor, known for his expertise in crafting engaging and informative written pieces. Beyond his professional work, Rohit is also a passionate musician, dedicating his free time to playing the guitar and creating melodious tunes.
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