Funeral Services Begin Friday for Janis Hewitt, Who Lost Her Life in Montauk Crash

MONTAUK, NY — Hearts are heavy in Montauk as funeral arrangements for Janis Hewitt, who died in an accident in Montauk on Tuesday afternoon, unfold Friday.

Visitation for Janis Hewitt will be at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. A mass will be said at St. Therese of Lisieux Church in Montauk on Saturday at 11 a.m. Burial at Fort Hill Cemetery in Montauk will follow.

Richard Lewin, a Patch contributor and colleague of Hewitt's, remembered her spirit and the legacy she leaves behind.

"Janis Hewitt's observations as senior writer at the East Hampton Star, about The Real Montauk, will be sorely missed," he said.

"There is a unique, commonly shared, enthusiasm and tenacity among Montauk's original families, to perpetuate the close knit community spirit, no matter how outside influences try to change things. Janis was a Hewitt, as in Hewitt's Ruschmeyer's, Hewitt's Shagwong . . . so she bore some responsibility in this," Lewin said.

He added, "Whether I was doing photo coverage of a St. Patrick's Day Parade grand marshal's luncheon at Gurney's, a teachers' meeting at the Montauk School gym, the grand reopening of John's Drive-In 'Under Old Management', or a special event at Montauk Firehouse, Janis was there with her pen, paper and simple point and shoot camera. She got some great 'money shots' with it, some which rivaled the ones I had taken with my fancy camera. . .I will miss seeing her around the circuit. All my sympathy to Janis's family and friends."

Hewitt, 63, lost her life in a two-vehicle accident involving a gas truck near the transfer station Tuesday, police said.

According to East Hampton Town Police, David T. Kelleher, 42, of Mastic, was driving a 2015 International Harvester gas truck west on Route 27 when a 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser, driven by Hewitt and heading east, crossed into the westbound lane and collided with the gas truck.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kelleher was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital, where he was treated and released after being examined in the emergency room, police said.

Officers from the Suffolk County Police Motor Carrier Section responded and conducted safety checks on the International gas truck, police said. The 2005 Chrysler was impounded by East Hampton Town Police for a safety inspection, police said.

Hewitt was a reporter for The East Hampton Star for 20 years, the Star reported Tuesday night.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact the East Hampton Town Police Department at 631-537-7575. All calls will be kept confidential.