Fund To Honor Lauren Hewski, St. John Vianney Senior Who Died In Crash

ABERDEEN, NJ — Lauren Hewski, 18, the Saint John Vianney High School senior who died in a car crash Thursday, was a "bright light," according to her family.

And her family is honoring her memory with contributions to a GoFundMe site for a foundation for other students in her name.

Lauren is survived by her parents, Dennis and Kimberly (Mennona) Hewski; her grandparents, Dennis Hewski, Catherine Rutkowski Hewski, and Cynthia Steindecker Mennona and a large extended family, according to her obituary provided by Shore Point Funeral Home in Hazlet.

Visitation begins Wednesday, followed by her funeral on Friday.

Friends and family may visit the funeral home, 3269 Route 35 North, on Wednesday, May 17, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

On Thursday, family, friends and high school students, faculty and staff are invited to visit from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Benedict Roman Catholic Church, 165 Bethany Road, Holmdel.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Friday, May 19, at 11 a.m. at St. Benedict Roman Catholic Church, according to the arrangements.

In place of flowers, the family asks that donations be made through the GoFundMe site to Lauren’s Light, a foundation being established in her name.

Lauren had plans to attend Syracuse University to study political science and public policy, but now her family hopes to help other women follow in her footsteps.

Lauren's Light will be the foundation to help other women students, the site says.

"To everyone that knew her, Lauren was a bright light, a passionate advocate, a fierce competitor, and a kind and genuine friend with a wicked sense of humor," the site, organized by her mother Kim Hewski of Aberdeen, said.

The site, set up on Sunday, has already raised more than $39,000 of a $40,000 goal.

"Lauren wasn’t foolish enough to think she could change the world, but she certainly wanted to make a difference. Lauren’s story does not end here," the site says.

On Thursday, May 11, Lauren was just awarded her associate's degree from Brookdale Community College in Middletown as a member of the Early College Academy at Saint John Vianney High School in Holmdel.

But an hour later, on her way to meet her parents for a celebratory lunch, Lauren was in the car accident, the site says. She was a passenger in the car that struck a utility police on Laird Road in Colts Neck. The 17-year-old driver, also a Vianney senior, was injured, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Hewski was just weeks away from high school graduation. The Saint John Vianney graduation is June 3.

In high school, she was on the Distinctive Honor Roll, a School Ambassador, a four-year varsity soccer player and captain, class president, and class secretary, the site says.

In her community, she was an active member of Girl Scouts of America, serving on the CEO Advisory Board and as a Council Delegate for the Sandy Hook Region, also earning her Bronze and Silver Awards and working toward completing the prestigious Gold Award, it says.

In addition, she was on U.S. Representative Frank Pallone Jr.’s Youth Advisory Council, working on policy agendas for immigration and homelessness, and was an active volunteer for the RAINE Foundation, a charitable organization in the area, it notes.

She was planning to attend the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, in New York state.

At Saint John Vianney, a memorial Mass with the senior class and the soccer team was held on Friday, which was supposed to be the day of the senior prom, a parent there said. The seniors were off from school that day. The prom is now planned for May 24.

Lauren's funeral services will be handled by Shore Point Funeral Home in Hazlet. Arrangements were not finalized as of Monday morning.

Since Friday, comments have come from both her school's where students and officials were devastated by the accident.

The college community "is devastated over the tragic death of Lauren Hewski," said college President Dr. David M. Stout Friday. "We had just celebrated her success as one of our youngest college graduates at Brookdale’s morning Commencement Ceremony."

Her high school also asked for prayers.

"The Saint John Vianney High School community has suffered a great loss," said Principal Margaret Kane in a statement from the school on Friday.

"We ask for prayers and privacy for the family at this time. We also ask for prayers for our school community," Kane said.

At Brookdale, Stout had more praise for the young graduate:

"Lauren was an incredibly intelligent and talented young woman who left an indelibly positive impression on all of her faculty and classmates," Stout said.