Merced business raises money to support little boy after the death of his mother

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- Audrey Unti, 25, was killed in a car crash last week. Audrey's co-workers at Kings Asian Cuisine say she was a single mother who loved her little boy more than anything in the world. Now they're planning a special fundraiser to help support his future.

A small memorial marks the spot where Audrey Unti crashed into a pole on January 6th. CHP officers say it's not clear why she lost control, but they do know she was heading north on Chowchilla Boulevard, and the road was wet at the time.

The news hit her co-workers extremely hard. "It was a shock to everyone. My mother in law, she's the one who told me, she was crying, the chefs, the employee that also works with her usually, she was crying, everyone was just shocked, they could not believe it," said Tyler McKean, Kings Asian Cuisine manager.

McKean says Audrey worked at Kings Asian Cuisine for nearly a year and made a great impression on everyone around her. "She was probably the most genuine person I ever met. She always had a very positive optimistic outlook on everything, and it was contagious. Her personality was contagious, and she was just a great person."

Friends also say Audrey's three-year-old son, Jordance, was the love of her life. "He was just so adorable, he would come in sometimes with his hair all jazzed all over the place, but loved our pork chow mein, she'd always come in for the pork chow mein for him, that was one of his favorite meals here," said Denise Santo, friend and co-worker

Now as Jordance faces life without his mother, the staff at Kings Asian wants to help fill the financial void from the loss of her income. On January 20th, all of the restaurant's profits will go to a fund for his future.

"I'm so happy the community is joining in and helping us with this, we've already had phone calls. We're going to be taking reservations, so we expect to have a full staff on, and we're ready for it. We hope the community comes in and helps us," said Santo.

Kings Asian will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the day of the fundraiser -- January 20th. Click here for map.

Family members have also set up a go fund me account under the name Audrey Brandt. https://www.gofundme.com/n7938wg4