Cara McCollum, Former Miss America Contestant, Dies After Car Crash

Cara McCollum, a former contestant of Miss America, has died due to injuries sustained from a car crash early Monday morning on a New Jersey highway.

McCollum died at Cooper University Hospital according to Frank DiMauro, chief operating officer of the TV station where she worked.

The blonde beauty graduated from Princeton University and was a news anchor on SNJ Today.

McCollum was driving alone and without her seatbelt when her Mustang swerved off the road off Route 55 in Pittsgrove Township. Her car hit three trees before ending in an embankment. New Jersey state police said she was driving too fast for the wet road conditions.

In her family’s Facebook post, they wrote, “We’ve prayed constantly for a miracle, and we believe God has answered our prayers. Although it’s not the miracle that we first envisioned, it’s a miracle nonetheless, in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years…. We all will miss her now that she’s gone.”

McCollum died with her family by her side and her organs were donated according to her family’s Facebook post.

Her place of work also shared their condolences and memories of the news anchor: “With tremendous difficulty and profound personal sadness, SNJ Today, its affiliates and member companies acknowledge the passing of SNJ Today Lead News Anchor Cara McCollum who died today from serious injuries sustained in an automobile accident on February 15.”