A young Petaluma woman on a field trip with her college classmates was killed Friday near Lodi when the car in which she was riding was struck broadside by a tractor-trailer.
Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to pull Lisa Marie Kamby, 20, from the wreckage. She had incurred major head injuries and was taken by helicopter to San Joaquin General Hospital in Stockton, where she died.

"She had such a beautiful smile and she just radiated a joy in life," said Janet Hess, one of Kamby's teachers at Sonoma State University. "She was so happy, so young, and so excited about her future. It's very sad."

Kamby's anguished parents said she hadn't been that excited about the trip to Moaning Cavern, near Angels Camp, but decided to go because her friend and classmate, Renee Rodriquez of Redwood City, was going.

"She had a loving heart. Everyone liked her," said her mother, Joan Kamby. "It's so hard to believe."

Rodriquez remains in critical condition at San Joaquin General Hospital.

Two other women in the car, Erin Siler, 18, of Rancho Cordova, and Crystal Jennings, 19, of Buena Park, suffered minor injuries and were treated at Lodi Memorial Hospital, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The four students were members of the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at SSU, a liberal arts program that leads to a teaching credential.

The students left Friday for Moaning Cavern, which is 410 feet deep and the largest single-chamber public cavern in California, and were to return home on Saturday.

Siler, who was driving, was eastbound on Kettleman Lane when she stopped the Honda Civic at the intersection of Clements Road at about 11:10 a.m. Friday, according to the CHP.

Then Siler inexplicably pulled out from the stop sign and directly into the path of the big rig, which was traveling north on Clements Road, the CHP said.

Truck driver Rex Gonzalez, 46, tried to stop, but slammed into the Honda and pushed it some 25 feet into a fence near the roadway. Gonzalez was not injured in the collision.

Students will mourn Kamby's death at 9 a.m. today by scattering dried rose petals on the lake and sharing their thoughts and memories, said Debora Hammond, provost of the Hutchins School.

"She was one of the most good-hearted students I've ever met," said Tom Shaw, another of Kamby's SSU teachers. "She never had a negative thing to say. She was as good as they get."

Kamby was a graduate of Casa Grande High School. She liked to cook and shop, and her sister, Carolyn, 22, was her best friend, Joan Kamby said.

She loved animals and had helped her mother foster kittens. She was also a member of the Key Club at Casa Grande, through which she performed volunteer work. She was also part of the Regional Occupation Program, and worked at elementary schools as an aide, helping younger students learn to read.

Kamby had worked at See's Candy and was employed at the Redwood Credit Union at the time of her death.

In addition to her mother and sister, she is survived by her father, Tony Kamby; and her grandmother, Elaine Berkman, all of Petaluma. She also leaves her grandparents, Anton and Marjorie Kamby of Sonoma.