'Bachelorette' Contestant Addresses Madison Cawthorn Crash

In an interview, Brad Ledford, a contestant on season 22 of 'The Bachelorette', addressed the 2014 car accident involving a then-teenager Madison Cawthorn. The incident, which occurred 12 years ago, has resurfaced amid controversy surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul. Ledford expressed his discomfort with the media coverage of an event from his youth.

Ledford emphasized that the accident was a significant event in his life and regretted that publications were revisiting such an old incident. The interview was conducted with Charity Lawson and Kathy Swarts from Bachelor Nation. The accident occurred when Ledford, 17 at the time, and Cawthorn, 18, were traveling from Florida to North Carolina.

Ledford explained that he briefly fell asleep at the wheel, waking up just before crashing into a concrete barrier. After the impact, his first concern was the accident, without anticipating the severity. Upon checking on Cawthorn, he realized he was unconscious. Ledford's version differs from Cawthorn's, who claimed to have been abandoned in the burning vehicle.

According to a 2017 court deposition, Cawthorn's feet were resting on the vehicle's dashboard. Ledford recounted that, after the accident, the car caught fire, and he managed to escape through the window, unbuckle Cawthorn's seatbelt, and pull him out of the vehicle.

Ledford's statements contrast with Madison Cawthorn's version. The former congressman, who now uses a wheelchair due to injuries sustained in the accident, alleged that Ledford abandoned him immediately after the crash. Cawthorn claimed to have been 'declared dead at the scene' and accused Ledford of leaving him in the burning car.

Cawthorn, in a 2017 speech, described Ledford as his 'brother, my best friend,' and recounted how, according to him, Ledford left him in the burning car. The incident has resurfaced as a topic of public debate due to Ledford's participation in 'The Bachelorette'.