Kadance Fredericksen, a Miss Florida Teen USA contestant, died in a car crash just “three minutes from home,” says her mother, Lisa Fredericksen.
Lisa, 48, spoke with People for a story published on Wednesday, February 19, two days after Kadance’s death at the age of 18. The teen was driving in Santa Rosa County on Monday, February 17, when her car went over the center line and crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer. Kadance was pronounced dead at the scene.
“She was literally three minutes from home,” Lisa told the outlet, adding, “I have no idea what happened.”
Neither did the Florida Highway Patrol when they filed their report on Monday’s crash, stating that Kadance’s vehicle had crossed into the opposite lane “for reasons unknown.” An investigation into the tragedy continues.
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Lisa adopted Kadance seven years ago; her daughter had been abused earlier in her childhood. In 2024, Kadance was a finalist for the Miss Florida Teen USA title and was also crowned Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA.
“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 said in her People interview, adding, “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. But she was hooked.”
Kadance had raised more than $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald House since volunteering at the charity starting in 2017. That year, she founded Kada’s Promise, which provides teddy bears and blankets to kids in foster care, homeless shelters, abuse shelters and hospitals.
“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,” Kadance explained in a message on the organization’s website. “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.”
According to Lisa, Kadance was the “most kindhearted” person and “only wanted everybody to be happy.” Her goal was to become a veterinarian. The day before she died, she had been awarded a full-ride scholarship at Mississippi State University, one of nine colleges that had accepted her as a student.
“Our pageant community has lost a beautiful soul — one who was a true light in this world,” Kadance’s Miss Florida and Teen Florida USA Family said in a statement Tuesday.
“She was ambitious, driven, kind, and a leader among her pageant sisters,” they 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.”
