{"id":7071,"date":"2026-08-21T09:06:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7071"},"modified":"2026-08-21T09:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:06:31","slug":"miss-grand-usa-mekyla-li-stripped-of-title-after-alleged-hit-and-run-previous-marriage-revelations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7071","title":{"rendered":"Miss Grand USA Mekyla Li stripped of title after alleged hit-and-run, previous marriage revelations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Miss Grand USA Mekyla Li was stripped of her title just one week after she was crowned amid revelations of an alleged 2024 hit-and-run and a previous marriage.<\/p>\n

Read more North Carolina girl kidnapped at sleepover by friend\u2019s uncle, forced into the woods before good Samaritan rescued her<\/a><\/p>\n

Li\u2019s short-lived reign was terminated, and she was released from the \u201cMiss Grand USA Title and all associated duties\u201d for violating the pageant\u2019s rules, the organization announced Wednesday<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision was made in accordance with contractual policies outlined by the Miss Grand USA organization,\u201d Miss Grand USA officials said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Li, 27, is facing two felony charges stemming from an alleged hit-and-run in Los Angeles in November 2024, according to court records obtained by People Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Li was married to Danny Ray Bedwell from Aug. 9, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2019 \u2014 a status that appears to conflict with Miss Grand International\u2019s eligibility rules, records also showed.<\/p>\n

Pageant rules state contestants \u201ccannot be or have been married or pregnant\u201d and \u201cmust have a clean personal record with no criminal history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Li was arrested on Nov. 24, 2024, and pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she caused a non-serious injury and a permanent serious injury.<\/p>\n

Li and a man named Michael Scobey allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic on Sunset Boulevard and collided with a vehicle driven by Anna Mercedes Aoun, according to a civil lawsuit reported by the outlet.<\/p>\n

Aoun alleges she suffered \u201ccatastrophic injuries,\u201d including \u201csome permanent disability\u201d and lost future income.<\/p>\n

She also claims Li and Scobey did not call emergency services after the collision and instead \u201cfled the scene\u201d in a rideshare vehicle.<\/p>\n

Aoun is seeking a jury trial and damages for medical expenses, property damage, lost earnings and \u201cvarious and sundry expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more SoCal dad in jacuzzi kicked in head by laughing thugs who rob his $1,000 iPhone<\/a><\/p>\n

Page Six has reached out to Li\u2019s rep for comment.<\/p>\n

Li was born to Chinese and South African parents and raised \u201cacross three continents,\u201d according to her website.<\/p>\n

She previously held the titles of Miss Grand Massachusetts 2026 and Miss Asia USA 2025.<\/p>\n

Li won Miss Grand USA on Aug. 10 and said she was already looking ahead to competing at the Miss Grand International pageant in India later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel so excited but I\u2019m also already thinking about the journey ahead,\u201d she told Edgar Entertainment.<\/p>\n

Miss Grand USA named Miss Grand Indiana Victoria Oluwakotanmi, who finished as the first runner-up, as Li\u2019s replacement on Thursday. Oluwakotanmi was named Miss Black San Antonio in March 2020 and competed in the Miss Texas USA pageant in 2023. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cVictoria now steps forward to carry the crown, represent the United States, and begin an extraordinary new chapter with the Miss Grand USA organization,\u201d the pageant said.<\/p>\n

One day before her title was terminated, Li called her victory \u201csurreal\u201d and an \u201cunforgettable night\u201d on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cA week into this reign, and I\u2019m still taking it all in. But now, the dreaming becomes doing,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crown is on, the lights are waiting, and I\u2019m ready to make this year count and see just how grand this journey can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oluwakotanmi, who joined the military after graduating school, has not addressed her rival\u2019s dethroning but has since shared scores of congratulatory messages on her Instagram Stories.<\/p>\n

Read more Laughing Florida sicko tells court he wants death penalty for torturing, dismembering teen girl he lured on social media<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mekyla Li has been stripped of her Miss Grand USA crown just one week after winning due to an alleged 2024 hit-and-run and a past marriage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMiss Grand USA Mekyla Li stripped of title after alleged hit-and-run, previous marriage revelations - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7071\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miss Grand USA Mekyla Li stripped of title after alleged hit-and-run, previous marriage revelations - 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