St. John Vianney principal Margaret Kane said Hewski, captain of the girls’ varsity soccer team, was a gifted student and athlete, and that her death was a "great loss" to the school community.

The community of St. John Vianney H.S. asks for prayers and privacy for the family, at this time, as well as prayers for the school community, said Kane.

Hours before the accident, Hewski had just graduated from Brookdale Community College with an associate degree in social science as part of the Early College Academy Program – a partnership between Brookdale and St. John Vianney High School.

According to a May 12 article in the Asbury Park Press, Brookdale Community College president David M. Stout said the school was “devastated” at the death of the 18-year-old, who, he said, was one of the youngest graduates of the early program which enables students to earn an associate degree through Brookdale while simultaneously finishing high school.

As confirmed by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, police responded to a single-vehicle collision in Colts Neck shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. They found an overturned Jeep Cherokee. The driver, a 17-year-old male, was taken to a local hospital. Hewski, the passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to her Linkedin profile, Hewski was involved in student government, National Honor Society and Key Club, among other extracurriculars. She had also received multiple Girl Scout awards and was a life-long Catholic school student.