The 2024 Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas died after she and her four team members were involved in a car crash, the state’s highway patrol said.
Emma Brungardt, 19, was killed on Friday around 9:44 p.m. in a single-vehicle collision in Thomas County, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol crash report obtained by USA TODAY. Brungardt and her teammates were passengers in a 2007 Ford F250 pickup traveling south in Thomas County when the truck “left the roadway” while going in between a Y intersection and struck “a tree row,” the report reads.
The driver and Brungardt’s four teammates, who were between the ages of 18 and 20, survived after being taken to Citizens Medical Center for their injuries, according to the report. Brungardt, who was wearing her seatbelt, died at the scene.
It is unclear what led up to the collision or if anyone will face criminal charges. USA TODAY contacted the Kansas Highway Patrol on Tuesday but has not received a response.
‘Emma was a true gem and horsewoman’
The Miss Rodeo Kansas Pageant shared a statement on Friday regarding Brungardt’s death on its Facebook.