Kadance Fredericksen: Miss Florida Teen USA Contestant, 18, who was 'ambitious' and a 'true light' dies in car crash 'three minutes from home'

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, which did not identify the teen by name, Kadance was driving in Santa Rosa County on Monday, Feb. 17, when “for reasons unknown” her car crossed the center line. Her car then crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her mum Lisa Fredericksen, 48, tells PEOPLE: “She had the whole world right there in her hands, and she was ready to take it on. She was literally three minutes from home. I have no idea what happened”.

Lisa added that she wasn't home at the time, but her oldest daughter, who lives next door, learned about the crash from police. An investigation remains ongoing.

Kadance, experienced abuse in her early childhood, and was formally adopted by Lisa in 2017. The decision to enter the pageant world came "after years of therapy," according to the mum.

According to Lisa, Kadance began volunteering with the Ronald McDonald House, completing thousands of hours and hosting an annual lemonade stand — and since 2017, she's raised over $25,000 for the charity. Eventually, she founded her own organization Kada’s Promise, which donates teddy bears and blankets to children in foster care, homeless shelters, abuse shelters and hospitals, according to the charity's website.

Kadance competed for the Miss Florida Teen USA crown and also held the Miss Okaloosa County Teen title. Her Miss Florida and Teen Florida USA Family said: "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. 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."