Magnificence pageant queen, 18, who overcame childhood homelessness, abuse killed in Florida automotive crash

An 18-year-old magnificence pageant queen who overcame childhood struggles together with homelessness and an abusive mom was killed in a automotive crash with a tractor-trailer in Florida.

Kadance Fredericksen, a former winner of the Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA title, was driving Monday on Freeway 4 when she collided head-on with a tractor-trailer, in keeping with Florida Freeway Patrol. The reason for the crash remains to be underneath investigation, and the tractor-trailer driver — who suffered minor accidents — was not arrested.

Fredericksen, of Baker, Florida, had lately obtained a $40,000 school scholarship, she introduced in her ultimate Instagram put up on Feb. 7.

“I’m extremely grateful to be chosen as a recipient of this yr’s Ellison McCraney Ingram Basis $40,000 Scholarship,” she wrote. “This beneficiant help will assist form my future and convey me one step nearer to attaining my desires. Thanks to the Ingram household, the inspiration, and everybody concerned for this wonderful honor!”

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Fredericksen based Kada’s Promise, a charity initiative that collected 12,000 teddy bears and blankets that have been then distributed to youngsters affected by abuse or trauma.

As a toddler, Fredericksen struggled with homelessness, starvation and abuse earlier than her father and stepmother — who later adopted her — gained custody. She stated she had been abused and uncared for by her organic mom and stepfather, together with being groomed by her stepfather.

“Throughout many darkish instances in my early childhood, the one factor that I might name my very own or that made me really feel protected was a single teddy bear that I obtained as a present,” she wrote on the Kada’s Promise web site. “I carried him with me from home to accommodate, sofa to sofa and clutched him tightly within the scariest instances. It’s from these recollections that Kada’s Promise was born.”

Along with successful the wonder pageant title for her dwelling county, Fredericksen additionally gained Little Miss Northwest Florida in 2017 and represented her county on the Miss Florida Teen USA pageant final yr.

She used her pageantry platform to lift $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald Home, which seeks to supply non permanent housing for households with a toddler receiving medical remedy for most cancers or different illnesses.

Fredericksen was a senior at Baker Faculty, the place she was anticipating to graduate within the subsequent few months earlier than the tragic accident reduce her life quick.

“It’s with profound disappointment that we mourn the tragic lack of Kadance Fredericksen, an distinctive younger lady, senior at Baker Faculty, and founding father of ‘Kada’s Promise,'” the varsity wrote on Fb. “Our hearts exit to her household, mates, and all those that knew and liked her. We additionally provide our deepest condolences to the scholars, workers, school, and the whole Baker Group as we come collectively in grief throughout this extremely troublesome time.”

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“Kadance was a beacon of sunshine in our neighborhood, recognized for her compassion, tireless advocacy for youngsters in want, and unwavering dedication to creating a distinction,” the put up continued. “By means of her efforts with Kada’s Promise, she introduced hope and luxury to hundreds of kids experiencing trauma, accumulating and distributing over 12,000 teddy bears and blankets to youngsters in want. Her work impressed us all, and her legacy will stay on within the numerous lives she touched.”

A candlelight vigil can be held on the faculty on Wednesday night time.