CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) – A former Miss America contestant who was critically injured in a car crash on a New Jersey highway died early Monday, a week after her car spun off a roadway and into trees.
Cara McCollum died at Cooper University Hospital, according to Frank DiMauro, chief operating officer of the TV station where she worked, and a Facebook message posted by her family.
Her family said in the Facebook post that the 24-year-old from Margate died with her family by her side in an operating room, and that her organs were donated.
“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,” the family said. “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.”
Her family posted a video of McCollum performing a version of “Cups” by Anna Kendrick in the film “Pitch Perfect.”