Cara McCollum, TV news anchor and former Miss New Jersey, died Monday of injuries sustained last week in a car crash. She was 24 years old.
"The entire SNJ Today family extends its condolences to the many loyal viewers, colleagues, friends, and family of Cara McCollum," colleagues at the southern New Jersey news show
wrote on Facebook.
"Whether you had the privilege of knowing her or if you enjoyed her newscasts during her all too brief time with us, you know that her smile, determination, and sincerity made her a beloved individual."
USA Today reported that McCollum was alone in her Ford Mustang on Feb. 15 when she lost control on the rain-slicked Route 55 northbound near Pittsgrove and struck several trees. She was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, police said.
McCollum was a native of Arkansas, and attended Princeton University. She won the title of Miss New Jersey in 2013, and subsequently became a newscaster at SNJ Today, based in Millville.
After her crash she was transported to Cooper Health Systems and underwent surgery.
Friends and relatives hoped she would pull through, but her condition didn't improve.
"Before she died, Cara made the selfless decision to donate her organs. At this very moment, she is saving lives," her kin wrote on the Facebook page "Prayers for Cara."
McCollum is survived by her parents, brother, and boyfriend Keith Jones, an anchor at NBC station WCAU in Philadelphia.
"Words fall short of describing the pain, but I'm eternally grateful and blessed for the time I spent with Cara," he wrote,
according to the New York Daily News. "Her enormous heart enriched my life and changed me forever."
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