Family and friends remain baffled at why a young Turlock mother got out of a vehicle on Interstate 580 and started walking on the freeway. It was a decision that proved fatal.

Amber Reaves, 28, of Turlock was pronounced deceased at the scene, following the early Monday morning collision.

Reaves was a passenger in a Chevrolet Malibu that was headed eastbound on I-580. At 5:18 a.m. and near the connector ramp to northbound Highway 238, Reaves got out of the Malibu and started to walk on the freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A Honda CRV traveling eastbound on I-580 struck Reaves. The driver, a 71-year-old woman, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the CHP said and remained at the scene.

The other people in the Malibu told the CHP that there had not been any altercation preceding Reaves’ exit from the vehicle. They had been searching for Reaves when she was struck, according to the CHP.

Reaves was a mother of three young children. Her sister, Ashley Praxmarer, has set up a GoFundMe account to help with funeral expenses and assistance for her children.

“I lost my sister to a tragic accident on Monday, January 30th, 2023,” Praxmarer wrote. “Amber was a loving daughter, mother, sister, and friend. She leaves behind 3 loving children. She carved her own path in life and was trying to make a better life for herself and her children when it ended too soon.

“We will miss her and remember her for the rest of our lives,” she wrote.

The Go FundMe page can be found at: https://bit.ly/3Yn0rWN