Memorial Held For Former Miss New Jersey Killed in Crash

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Hundreds of people gathered at a New Jersey church to honor a former Miss America contestant who died from injuries suffered in a car crash last month.

The Miss New Jersey Education Foundation organized Saturday's memorial service for Cara McCollum at the Ocean City Tabernacle. Among those taking part were her boyfriend, Keith Jones, a news anchor at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, and reigning Miss New Jersey Lindsey Giannini.

The 24-year-old McCollum died Feb. 22, a week after she was injured in a one-car crash on Route 55 in Pittsgrove Township.

The Arkansas native won the 2013 Miss New Jersey pageant. She graduated from Princeton University and was an anchor on "SNJ Today," a news show serving the southern New Jersey area.

She was known for her public service, such as a program that presented books as birthday presents to first- and second-graders.

McCollum was alone in her vehicle and was not wearing a seatbelt when her Mustang veered off Route 55 in Pittsgrove Township and struck a tree, then spun again and hit two more trees before ending up in an embankment, police said.

State police say McCollum appeared to have been driving too fast for conditions on the wet road. They do not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor. The driver's side front air bag in her car deployed during the crash.

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