Miss Universe Contestant Dies at 30 in Freak Accident

A onetime Miss Universe contestant is dead after an elk crashed through her windshield as she drove with her new husband. Kseniya Alexandrova, who represented Russia in the 2017 pageant and was first runner-up in the Miss Russia competition that same year, was in the passenger seat as her husband was driving the couple home in Tver Oblast, Russia, on July 5, People reports. The model and practicing psychologist sustained severe brain injuries when an elk or moose, according to USA Today, jumped into the road and hit their windshield. She died August 12.

"From the moment it jumped out to the impact, a split second passed. I didn't have time to do anything," Alexandrova's husband said in a statement to Russian media translated by People. "Everything was covered in blood" and his wife of just four months was unconscious, he added. "Kseniya was bright [and] talented. She knew how to inspire, support and give warmth to everyone who was around," her modeling agency said in a statement. "For us, she will forever remain a symbol of beauty, kindness and inner strength. We sincerely mourn and express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and everyone who had the good fortune to know Kseniya."