Kadance Fredericksen, an 18 year-old Miss Teen USA pageant queen, was tragically killed in a car crash on Monday. Now, new details about the incident are coming to light to give us a better picture of how this tragedy occurred.
Beauty Queen Killed In Car Crash
A Florida Highway Patrol crash report obtained by E! News states that Fredericksen’s sedan collided head-on with a tractor-trailer at around 1:30 p.m. in Santa Rosa County, Florida on February 17. The crash occurred after she merged into the eastbound lane from the westbound lane on Florida State Road 4 for “unknown reasons.”
The tractor-trailer was being driven by a 56 year-old man who walked away with minor injuries.
Fredericksen’s family is in complete shock over her death, as she was minutes away from her house when the crash occurred.
“She was literally three minutes from home,” her mother Lisa told People Magazine. “I have no idea what happened.”
Sadly, close to home is where far too many car accidents happen.
Fredericksen’s History
Fredericksen was a brilliant young woman who had already been accepted to nine universities. She dreamed of one day becoming a veterinarian.
“She had the whole world right there in her hands, and she was ready to take it on,” Lisa lamented.
Fredericksen experienced abuse in her early childhood before she was adopted by Lisa in 2017. She later decided to enter the pageant world after undergoing “years of therapy.”
“She came home one day and she said, ‘Mama, can I do a beauty pageant?’ ” And I said, ‘Well, yeah, but if you do a beauty pageant, you have to talk in front of people,’ because she still didn’t talk a whole lot,” Lisa recalled.
“And she did it. She bought the ugliest dress she could find because she just wanted to be like a princess. She didn’t win a thing,” she continued. “But she was hooked.”
Miss Florida USA Honors Fredericksen
Eventually, Fredericksen did start winning pageants. Indeed, she managed to take home the coveted Miss Okaloosa County Teen title, which gave her the opportunity to compete for Miss Florida Teen USA. The Miss Florida USA organization has since issued a statement paying tribute to Fredericksen in the wake of her death.
“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we share the passing of one of our beloved delegates, Kadance Fredericksen,” the organization wrote on Instagram. “Our pageant community has lost a beautiful soul—one who was a true light in this world. She was ambitious, driven, kind, and a leader among her pageant sisters.”
“In times of grief, we are reminded to love one another and cherish each day as a gift,” the statement continued. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and all who are mourning this devastating loss. May we honor her memory by carrying forward the light she so effortlessly shared with the world and our Florida pageant community.”
The statement lastly described Fredericksen as being “Forever our Queen.”
Fredericksen’s Nonprofit Organization
Meanwhile, Fredericksen’s own experiences being abused as a child led her to launch Kada’s Promise in 2017. This nonprofit organization collects and donates comfort objects to children in troubling living situations,
“The only thing that made me feel safe was a single teddy bear that I received as a gift,” Fredericksen said in her organization’s mission statement. “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.”
Fredericksen’s funeral is set to take place on Saturday. The young woman’s family has asked funeral attendees to bring teddy bears for the service. A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help cover expenses. It has raised over $17,000 at this time.
“We want the whole world to know who Kadance is,” Lisa concluded. “We want to continue touching as many lives as we can, even though she’s not here.”
Finally, watch Fredericksen’s community gather to honor her in the video below.
Rest in peace, Kadance Fredericksen.
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