'Our fallen cowgirl': 2024 Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas dies in car crash, teammates injured

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.

"The Miss Rodeo Kansas Pageant would like to express our deepest condolences to the family of Emma Brungardt, our beautiful Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas 2024," the pageant wrote. "Emma was a true gem and horsewoman who embodied what it meant to be a rodeo queen, always going above and beyond what was expected of her."

"We will miss her contagious smile and one in a million personality. Please keep her family and friends in your prayers as they navigate through this unimaginable loss."

A GoFundMe organized by Adrianne Meyer was reshared by the pageant's Facebook and already received more than $9,000 in donations.

"Emma's spirit was as boundless as the Kansas sky. She brought joy and hope to everyone she met—whether in the rodeo arena, her 4-H club, or simply walking down the halls at school," according to the GoFundMe page. "To know Emma was to love her; her warmth, positivity, and genuine compassion touched the hearts of friends and family alike. She had a unique ability to lift those around her, and her laughter could light up the darkest of days."

Emma Brungardt's 'light will live on'

Colby Community College, where Brungardt attended and majored in equine management and production, shared a Facebook post on Friday calling the Blue Rapids resident "a sweet soul who picked up other people and always had a positive attitude."

"Last night (Brungardt) along with 4 other team members and our work study were involved in a car accident. Unfortunately, Emma did not walk away from this," the school wrote. "We are praying for all families involved... Her light will live on in and around the rodeo arena."

In a separate Facebook post shared on Monday, the college wrote, "Last evening members past and present of the Colby CC Rodeo Team along with supporters memorialized our fallen cowgirl."

"We are sending prayers to ease the sorrow we are all feeling and that Emma is resting easy with her horses alongside the Lord," the Facebook post continued.

'I am the first generation to rodeo'

According to Brungardt's bio on the Miss Rodeo Kansas Pageant website, the then-17-year-old said, "In my family, I am the first generation to rodeo."

Brungardt also said in the bio that she is the fifth of seven siblings, including her late brother.

"Rodeo became a part of my life after the loss of my brother, Joseph," according to Brungardt's bio.

Brungardt enjoyed activities that involved nature, especially horseriding and working on her mustangs, her pageant bio says.

Before winning the Miss Rodeo Kansas Pageant and attending Colby Community College on a rodeo scholarship, Brungardt competed in the Kansas Wild Horse Youth Challenge for 4 years, winning grand champion in 2019 and 2021.

"I dream of becoming the first person in my family to complete a college degree," Brungardt said in her bio.