An accident claimed the life of Joanna Rodriguez, a 21-year-old mother, Thursday when her car rolled while she was swerving to avoid debris.

Police say she was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected during the accident on Tower Road near 97th Avenue in Commerce City.

Her 2-year old daughter, Evelyn, was strapped in her car seat and escaped with minor injuries.

Saturday, friends and family began a massive fund raising effort to help her family defray funeral costs. They blanketed the metro area, putting donation boxes in shops, stores, and clubs.

"We just want to help her family provide for her lovely daughter, and to help cover funeral costs that could be as high as ten thousand dollars," said Sdenny Sanchez, who took modeling classes with Rodriguez. "All of us girls loved Joanna like a sister; we grew up together and just feel so bad about her passing."

Sunday, the friends will hold a car wash on Virginia and Federal to continue the fund raising effort and plan to set up a memorial account.

For now, everyone is just trying to cope with a death that came too soon, for the young woman trying to make her way in the world.