A Florida beauty queen who helped to host a recent Miss North Florida pageant died in a tragic Monday car crash, according to reports.
Kadance Fredericksen, 18, of Baker, had assisted with emceeing duties at the Marianna event in Jackson County before the accident.
Shocked attendees — including several from St. Johns County — mourned the teen’s loss on social media Tuesday, highlighting her charity work and active role in local pageants.
“She was in a fatal car accident and there are no words to describe the shock that everyone is experiencing right now,” a Ponte Vedra resident wrote on Facebook. “Please pray for comfort, peace and for the Lord to carry her family through this unthinkable tragedy and the difficult time ahead. Our hearts are broken. Please pray.”
The high school senior and former Miss Okaloosa County overcame homelessness and an abusive mother to start her own charity.
Officials said she was driving her sedan down Highway 4 when she collided with a tractor trailer in Santa Rosa County.
“She was a beloved daughter, friend, and a dedicated student at Baker Fitness. The news of her untimely death has left a void in the lives of everyone who knew and loved her, leaving an immense impact on the Okaloosa County community,” read a local obituary.
Despite her young age, Fredericksen founded “Kada’s Promise,” a charity initiative that provided teddy bears and blankets to kids in foster care and shelters for survivors of abuse.
She previously told local outlets that she launched the initiative because of her own troubled youth.
“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,” Fredericksen wrote on the Kada’s Promise website.
Set to graduate from Baker School in a matter of months, she previously triumphed at the Little Miss Northwest Florida competition.
Her resilience and accomplishments had earned her a $40,000 scholarship towards the college of her choice.
The crash is still being probed. The driver of the truck, a 56-year-old man, suffered minor injuries and was not arrested at the scene.
