Foundation to keep St. John Vianney student's memory alive

🔴 High school senior Lauren Hewski was en route to celebrate her associate degree from Brookdale

🔴 The 17-year-old driver of the Jeep she was riding in hit a utility pole

🔴 A GoFundMe will help start the Lauren's Light Foundation to keep her memory alive

COLTS NECK — The family of a St. John Vianney senior who died in a crash Thursday are starting a foundation to help her memory live on

Lauren Hewski, 18, was set to graduate from the Catholic high school and attend Syracuse University in the fall majoring in political science and public policy.

She was a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee driven by her 17-year-old boyfriend and headed to a restaurant to meet her parents for a lunch celebrating having earned her associate's degree from Brookdale Community College as part of the Early College High School program, a partnership between Saint John Vianney and Brookdale.

When she was late, her mother checked her location headed to Laird Road where the app said she was located, friends told NBC 4 New York. Her parents found the road closed off with yellow tape and saw the horrific crash.

No summonses or juvenile complaints have been filed against the driver as of Monday morning, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

St.John Vianney canceled their prom Friday night.

Lauren Hewski (Top Drawer Soccer)

Lauren's Light

Lauren's family has created a GoFundMe page to establish a foundation called Lauren's Light that will allow other women to follow in her footsteps.

"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," organizer Kim Hewski wrote. "Lauren wasn’t foolish enough to think she could change the world, but she certainly wanted to make a difference."

The fund collected $30,000 in donations in just 12 hours and was still growing.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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Source: NJ h.s. senior was on way to celebrate with parents when she died in crash

Filed Under: colts neck, lincroft, middletown, Monmouth County

Categories: New Jersey News