Emma Brungardt, Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas of Blue Rapids killed in single car crash with vehicle driven by 18 year old man, Kade Homm who to date has not been charged. A total of five were in the car with a single fatality.
A 19-year-old rodeo star, who won Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas in 2024, was killed in a single-vehicle car accident that left four of her teammates and a fifth person injured on Friday night in rural Kansas, according to officials.
Emma Catherine Brungardt, of Blue Rapids, was a passenger in a 2007 Ford F250 pickup truck traveling southbound on County Road 21 in Thomas County when the pickup ‘left the roadway’ at the Y intersection and struck a tree row at 9.44pm, Kansas Highway Patrol said in a crash report.
Brungardt and four equestrian teammates were inside the pickup truck driven by Kade Homm, an 18-year-old man from Flagler, Colorado. The other passengers included 20-year-old Larned woman, Alaura Crockett-Armijoa, 19-year-old Newton woman, Kerstin S. Tommer, a 19-year-old Galva woman, Emma G. Krase and an 18-year-old man, Lakeddah J. Downes, from Council Grove.
Would teen driver now face any charges?
Troopers said Brungardt was wearing her seatbelt at the time of the crash. The driver and four other passengers survived the crash, reporting minor injuries according to The Wichita Eagle.
The crash report did not mention whether speed, alcohol or driver error led to the crash.
It remained unclear if the 18 year old driver, Kade Homm would now face any charges.
At the time of her death Brungardt was a sophomore at Colby Community College. The 19 year old was attending the school on a rodeo scholarship.
The school’s rodeo team stated in a Facebook post that the other individuals in the vehicle included four other team members and a work study.
‘We are praying for all families involved,’ the post on the team page read. ‘Emma was a sweet soul who picked up other people and always had a positive attitude. Her light will live on in and around the rodeo arena.’
Brungardt majored in equine management and production. The rodeo events she competed in included goat tying, breakaway and team roping.
Brungardt was named the 2024 Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas.
‘first-generation cowgirl’
‘As a first-generation cowgirl, Emma has immersed herself in the western way of life becoming involved in FFA in high school and coming in the Kansas Wild Horse Youth Challenge for 4 years, winning grand champion in 2019 and 2021,’ according to her profile on Miss Rodeo Kansas website. ‘She competed in the Kansas High School Rodeo Association for 2 years.’
Organisers of the event described Brungardt as a ‘first-generation cowgirl’ who ‘immersed herself in the western way of life.’
She was involved in FFA, a nonprofit organization that offers students agricultural classes, in high school and in the Kansas Wild Horse Youth Challenge, winning grand champion in 2019 and 2021, the website reads. She also competed in the Kansas High School Rodeo Association for two years.
According to an obit, funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, October 12 at the Blue Rapids school gymnasium at 509 Chestnut Street.
