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Family mourns Midvale mother of two killed in crash as fire slowed traffic on I-15

Posted at 5:54 PM, Jul 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-31 23:13:24-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Things couldn't have been better for Amber Orencole. Her family says the Midvale mom was happily married with two sons and a brand new job. Then it all came to an end in a split second when she crashed her truck on I-15 on Friday.

"It hurts to breathe, the pain is just so immense," said step-father Brian Hemminger.

Orencole was driving her truck along 1-15 Friday. Traffic was backed up due to a grass fire. Orencole slammed on the brakes, lost control and was hit by a semi.

Hemminger says Orencole will be remembered most for her bright smile and witty personality.

"She was living her life large, doing what she wanted, and who she wanted to be," Hemminger said.

Older brother Michael Stark says he was supposed to be looking out for her, but it was often the other way around.

"Just an amazing person, I don't know what I'm going to do without her, I always looked to my sister for answers," Stark said.

The family says once you met her she was impossible to forget.

"She had a huge impact on everybody in her life, and it's always a positive impact, always," said Nicholas Stark, another of Amber's brothers.

Hemminger said one of their last conversations together came at a family reunion earlier this month.

"She had found her life, she had found her niche," he said.

He said after she had fallen on some hard times he'd never seen Orencole so happy, and it was all because of her sons.

"She says, 'I don't know where I would be today if it wasn't for Shane and Dominique, they saved me, they've helped me to become the woman and mother I wanted to be,'" Hemminger said. "So when you talk about Amber Orencole, her children, they're her living legacy."

Loved ones have created a GoFundMe page to help the family with funeral costs.