Kadance Frederickson, former Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA, beauty teen pageant queen who beat abuse & homelessness killed in head on collision with tractor trailer. Baker, Florida native was a known presence in philanthropic circles prior to tragic car accident.
A former teen beauty pageant queen was killed in a ‘horror’ car accident while driving along a Florida highway.
Kadance Frederickson, 18, a former winner of Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA from Baker, Florida, was identified as the fatality in a car crash off Highway 4 at Hurricane Lake Road on Monday afternoon just on 1.30pm.
The beauty queen was driving along the highway when her sedan collided head-on with a tractor trailer driven by a 56-year-old man, Florida Highway Patrol said.
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Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, and police have made no arrests regarding Frederickson’s death. The 56 year old driver suffered minor injuries, WEAR reported.
Frederickson previously made headlines in 2017 when she created ‘Kada’s Promise’, a charity initiative that provided teddy bears and blankets to children in foster care, homeless and abuse shelters, and hospitals.
She told WEAR News in 2019 that she was inspired to help others because she experienced homelessness and abuse as a child, until she was taken in by her father and adoptive mother.
On her Kada’s Promise website, she wrote: ‘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.’
Teen beauty quean avid philanthropic work
Frederickson was a senior at Baker School, and following the announcement of her passing the school paid tribute to the teenager.
‘Please keep the family, the town, and the school in your thoughts as they will all miss and grieve this young lady. Counselors, mental health and school psychologist are available today at Baker School for students,’ the school said in a statement according to the dailymail.
A former winner of Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA, Frederickson competed in beauty pageants at numerous levels, including being named Little Miss Northwest Florida in 2017.
She also competed in the Miss Teen Florida competition last year.
Just one week before her death, Frederickson took to Instagram to celebrate being awarded a scholarship to help her go to college.
‘This generous support will help shape my future and bring me one step closer to achieving my dreams,’ she wrote in her final Instagram post after receiving the Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation’s $40,000 scholarship.
Alongside her charity work through Kada’s Promise, Frederickson also used her platform to raise $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald House, reports WCJB.
Speaking of her charity work, Frederickson told the outlet last year: ‘When I was little, I was abused and neglected by my biological mother and stepfather.
‘During those times, the only thing I had to call my own was a stuffed animal I received as a gift years beforehand.
‘Now that I’m in a safe home with a safe family, I learned I wasn’t the only kid that went through that.’
