A former teenage beauty pageant queen who overcame abuse and homelessness was on her way to achieving her dreams before being killed in a horrific crash with a lorry.
Kadance Fredericksen, 18, was driving on Highway 4 at Hurricane Lake Road in Baker when she collided head-on with tractor trailer driven by a 56-year-old man, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The man, from Milton, suffered minor injuries from the incident at 1.30pm on Monday. No arrests have been made in connection to the crash, with the cause still under investigation.
Fredericksen competed in pageants and won Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA. Last year, she entered the Miss Teen Florida competition.
In 2019, she told WEAR News that she was abused and homeless as a child, and ultimately rescued by her dad and adoptive mother.
Fredericksen was known in her community for founding Kada’s Promise, a charity that worked to gift teddy bears and blankets to foster kids at shelters and hospitals.
She wrote on her charity’s website: ‘During many dark times in my early childhood, the only thing that I could call my own or that made me feel safe was a single teddy bear that I received as a gift.
‘I carried him with me from house to house, couch to couch and clutched him tightly in the scariest times. It is from these memories that Kada’s Promise was born.’
She was a senior at Baker School when her life was cut short.
‘Please keep the family, the town, and the school in your thoughts as they will all miss and grieve this young lady,’ stated the school on social media on Tuesday, adding that counselors would be available on campus for students.
Only a week before the crash, Fredericksen shared on Instagram that she received a $40,000 scholarship from the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation’.
‘This generous support will help shape my future and bring me one step closer to achieving my dreams,’ she wrote in the final post.
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