ITHACA, N.Y. — A Cornell University football player is accused of punching a man in the face twice so hard that the person’s face was fractured.
Twan E. Terrell, 21, is charged with third-degree assault after an incident that happened around 1:30 p.m. Sept. 27 in front of Emerson Hall at Ithaca College, according to Town of Ithaca court records.
The records state that Terrell shared a cab ride to the campus from the Commons when another passenger got out of the van and ran away without paying. Another person in the cab — the man eventually punched in the face — was asked to pay the runner’s cab fare and did so after arguing that he should not be responsible for making the payment.
The records state that Terrell allegedly followed the man out of the cab and said, “Why did you disrespect that woman (the cab driver)?”
According to a statement made by the complainant, Terrell punched the man in the face. The record says the complainant swung a punch at Terrell but missed and was punched in the face again.
The complainant’s left eye orbital was fractured during the encounter.
According to the Cornell University website, Terrell is a senior strong safety on the team who was a starter in 2014 before siting out the last nine games because of an injury.
Cornell University officials said they are gathering information about the incident and do not have a comment as of Thursday morning.
Terrell is being represented by attorney Luke Fenchel, of Holmberg Galbraith law firm, who was appointed to the case by a town of Ithaca Court judge.