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Deborah Jean Howard, a former Miss New Hampshire and Concord High graduate who went on to become an English teacher, was killed in a car crash yesterday morning on I-93 in New Hampton. She was 42.

Family members said Howard, who lived in Campton, was on her way to judge a pageant when the accident happened. The state police said a car crashed into her from behind.

While she garnered headlines and attention for her 1991 pageant victory, it was her passion for education and her curiosity for the world around her that guided Howard through life, her family said. A graduate of Plymouth State University, she traveled extensively - as far away as Africa - and spent the last seven years working as an English teacher at Newfound Regional High School, where she lent her talents to the stage, putting on one-act plays and performing in community musicals.

"She was a very, very committed teacher, and a good mentor to a variety of students," said Michael O'Malley, the high school's principal. Howard had recently received her master's degree, he said, with a focus on special education. "She wanted to expand her awareness."

Howard was divorced and did not have children - a factor that likely deepened her love of teaching, said her brother, Douglas Howard. "As much as she wanted to have her own family, she never did," Howard said, "and I think that kind of filled the void."

Douglas Howard, who lives in Hillsborough, was at his mother's house in Concord yesterday afternoon, where he said family and friends were gathering. "We're doing better than when we heard," he said.

His younger sister was driving south on I-93 at 10:30 yesterday morning when a car driven by Donald Thompson, 48, of Meredith, hit her from behind, the state police said. Thompson was driving a PT Cruiser, and Howard, a Honda Fit, according to the police. She lost control of her car, and it went into the median, striking a tree on the driver's side.

She died at the scene, the police said.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, the police cited speed and inclement weather as likely factors in the accident. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts, the police said. They said the accident is under investigation.

Newfound administrators had been contacting staff members yesterday to inform them of Howard's death. Superintendent Marie Ross described Howard as "bright, and beautiful, and talented."

Howard had been teaching summer school, and Ross said she'd last seen her Thursday as she was leaving a class.

"She was telling me how rewarding it was to help those kids that needed a little bit more," Ross said. "She had so much to offer."

Howard had also started the school's recycling program, O'Malley said, and with students worked to foster respect for the environment.

He said staff members plan to gather at the high school today "as an opportunity to be with each other."

Beyond her roles at the high school, Howard was involved in her church in Campton, where she sang in the choir, family members said. She had taken on a second job at a Marshalls in Plymouth.

She worked hard, her brother said, mentioning the master's degree Howard had earned two years ago. "Even if it took her eons to make things happen," he said, "she was going to make it happen."

And she inspired that sense of possibility in others, he said.

"Debbie was great about saying, 'Maybe someday,' " Douglas Howard said. His five-year-old daughter adored her aunt, he said, and the two would play elaborate games of dress-up - "I'm talking about the hats, the old clothes, the shoes, everything," Howard said. "It was like a pageant in their own little house . . . She'd say, 'Maybe someday you'll be like that.' "