The Miss America Pageant got a scare Tuesday night as Miss Rhode Island Ivy DePew fainted onstage during night one of the preliminaries inside Boardwalk Hall.
She was taken to a nearby hospital and was being treated for heat stroke, pageant officials said.
DePew, who took part in evening gown and swimsuit competitions Tuesday, dropped to the floor while standing in the back of the stage toward the end of the two-hour night as Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno was speaking about her own professional accomplishments.
A hush came over Boardwalk Hall, and the rest of the contestants linked arms and stood in two lines blocking her from view, while paramedics and police came on stage. Dena Blizzard, the host of the preliminaries, soon announced DePew had become overcome by the heat.
Almost immediately, #prayersforivy tweets appeared on Twitter. "Some contestants are definitely shaken," tweeted one longtime observer, @pageantchris.
Later, the pageant issued a statement saying DePew was "recovering in the care of medical professionals" and wishing her a "speedy recovery." Sam Haskell, chief executive of the pageant, said the 23-year-old was with her parents. No further information was available.
The night's events continued awkwardly after several minutes, as a flustered Guadagno continued with the Duke of Edinburgh awards and the announcement of preliminary winners: Miss Ohio Mackenzie Bart, a ventriloquist whose routine with her dummy, Roxie, singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" brought the biggest cheers of the night. Miss Florida Victoria Cowan won swimsuit.
Miss New Jersey Cierra Kaler-Jones introduced herself as being from "the diner capital" of the world. Her dance routine was well received. Miss Delaware Brittany Lewis spoke about her platform of domestic violence but did not mention Ray Rice.
Like on Facebook
Follow on Twitter
Add on Google+
No comments:
Post a Comment