Howard University Law professor and attorney dies in D.C. plane crash

Howard University law professor Kiah Duggins has been identified as one of the victims of the devastating plane collision near Reagan National Airport.

Howard University community mourns professor

The HBCU released a statement Thursday night on Facebook, confirming Duggins untimely death:

“It is with profound sadness that the Howard University School of Law and the broader Howard University community have learned of the passing of Professor Kiah Duggins, who was among those lost in the the mid-air plane collision at Reagan National Airport,” the statement said.

Duggins was flying into Washington, DC, from Wichita as she was preparing to begin a new chapter as a law professor at Howard University in the fall.

“We ask for privacy and respect for Professor Duggins’ family, students, and colleagues during this difficult time,” the statement continued.

She is a beloved former pageant contestant and attorney

A native of Kansas, Duggins was a former Miss Kansas top 10 finalist who won the Miss Butler County pageant in 2014 and 2015.

Kiah Duggins (Facebook/Larry E Strong)

Duggins was a beloved civil rights attorney, who dedicated her career to fighting against unconstitutional policing and unjust money bail practices in Tennessee, Texas and Washington, D.C.

She earned her law degree from Harvard University, “where she served as the president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau,” multiple bachelor’s degrees from Wichita State University and “completed a Fulbright grant in Taiwan” before her work in the nation’s capital.