Civil rights attorney Kiah Duggins was among the 64 passengers and crew on the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., that plunged into the Potomac River Wednesday evening after colliding with a military helicopter.
According to multiple outlets and social media posts from friends and family, the 30-year-old civil rights attorney and former Miss Kansas contestant was returning to the nation’s capital after visiting Wichita to assist her mother, who had recently undergone a medical procedure.
“We are coming to terms with the grief associated with the loss of our beautiful and accomplished firstborn. Please respect our family’s privacy at this time,” her father, Maurice Duggins, said in a statement to NPR affiliate KMUW.
At the time of the crash, Duggins worked for the Civil Rights Corps in Washington, D.C., where she litigated “on behalf of movements” and challenged “unconstitutional policing and money bail practices.”
According to her profile on the law office’s website, she graduated from Wichita East High School and Wichita State University before eventually earning a degree from Harvard Law School. Before moving to D.C., she worked for the ACLU of Northern California where her focus was challenging police misconduct.
Duggins also competed in pageants intending to earn scholarship money. In 2014, she won Miss Butler County in Kansas and placed in the top 10 in the Miss Kansas competition.
Tributes to Duggins have been pouring in online from friends. Anna Bower, who identified herself as a former law school classmate, wrote on Blue Sky, “I’m sad to learn that my law school classmate, Kiah Duggins, died in the DC plane crash last night. Kiah was an exceptionally talented civil rights lawyer and aspiring legal scholar.”
Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse said Duggins’ death was “devastating” in a post on Facebook.
“She was a brave and beautiful soul, a light in the fight for civil rights,” Cruse wrote. “Her loss is heartbreaking, not only for her family and friends but for everyone who believes in justice and equality.”
Larry E. Strong, executive director of the Miss Augusta/Miss Butler County Organization at the Miss Kansas Organization, noted in a tribute post on Facebook that Duggins was preparing to become a law professor at Howard University in the fall.
Speaking to CBS affiliate KWCH-TV, Strong said, “[She had] such a bright future ahead, such a bright future ahead. I know this is a difficult time for [Duggins’ family], and they’re in my thoughts and prayers.”
On Thursday, Jan. 30, Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly confirmed that all 64 passengers and crew on the American Airlines flight and all three military personnel on the helicopter were presumed dead and that their efforts had gone from “search and rescue” to “recovery.”
