Random Attack Leaves Bride Unconscious in Dallas Before Wedding

What started as a dream bachelorette weekend in Dallas turned into a nightmare for 27-year-old Canada Rinaldi from Oklahoma. On March 22, Rinaldi was out celebrating with friends in the Deep Ellum neighborhood on what was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of her life. Instead, she ended up unconscious with a concussion, a broken nose, three broken teeth, and eight stitches in her face after a violent and unprovoked attack.

Blindsided on the Way to an Uber^®

Around 2 a.m. on March 23, the group was heading to their Uber when, according to Rinaldi and other witnesses, a man came up from behind and punched her without warning. "We started walking across the street to get into the Uber, and that's when he came from behind and he punched Canada, and she went straight down," Kelly Peralta, Rinaldi's fiancé's aunt, told WFAA, as reported by PEOPLE. Peralta was also assaulted when she tried to defend Rinaldi.

Rinaldi doesn't remember the moment of the attack. "I only remember walking to my Uber and then being in and out of the ambulance and hospital," she said to WFAA, according to PEOPLE.

"It's just shocking. It's just hard to believe," Rinaldi said. "It just feels like a lot of my experiences were taken away from me."

Arrest Made, but Questions Remain

Dallas police arrested 27-year-old Trevon Woodards in connection with the assault. While the motive remains unclear, this isn't Woodards' first brush with the law. Records show he was charged with felony assault in 2021 after attacking a police officer during an unrelated incident. He pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge and was later jailed briefly for a probation violation.

A Wedding Overshadowed by Trauma

The attack came just four weeks before Rinaldi's wedding. Despite her physical injuries, she's determined to move forward. "My face is healing so quickly I will be almost if not fully healed on the outside by the wedding. I will still have the best day of my life with the person I love no matter what I look like!"

However, the emotional toll is undeniable. "I feel like I'm not excited to plan my wedding anymore," she told WFAA, according to PEOPLE.

A GoFundMe set up by a friend has raised nearly $20,000 to help cover her extensive medical bills, including ambulance and hospital costs. "She is now trying to heal — not only physically, but emotionally and financially — when she should be counting down the days to her wedding," the page said, according to PEOPLE.

References: Bride-to-Be Knocked Unconscious in 'Horrifying, Shocking Attack' During Her Bachelorette Party | Man arrested in brutal assault of bride-to-be on bachelorette outing in Dallas