On one-year anniversary of his death, remembrance ceremony planned by widow of jogger killed on Main Road

January 16 will be one year since Jamesport resident Jim Callaghan was struck and killed while jogging on Main Road in Laurel.

His widow Jennifer plans to mark the moment she lost the love of her life at 5:45 a.m. that day with a remembrance at the accident site, where she and others will gather with Chinese lanterns lit in his memory.

“Jim Callaghan was a man who needs to be celebrated and I intend to celebrate him for the rest of my life,” she said this week. “The purpose of the Chinese lanterns it to send our love to the heavens where our loved one now lives. Jim Callaghan was a loving father, husband and friend to many. He has been sorely missed and will forever remain in our hearts.”

She added that the gathering will also help to keep awareness alive. “Runners and cyclists alike must remain vigilant when out on their runs/rides. Light yourselves up and be visible for your own safety,” she said.

To that end, Jennifer Callaghan also taped a public service announcement to raise awareness about following the rules of the road.

“I’m grateful that Suffolk County is finally realizing that there is a problem on our roads.  If we look out for one another, tragic events like this will occur less often,” she said.

The PSA came as the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office in August closed  the file on the apparent hit-and-run accident,  deeming it a “cold case,” Callaghan said. “There is no such thing as closure. I just wanted justice,” Callaghan said at the time.

In March, new evidence was uncovered in the ongoing investigation indicating the first vehicle that struck Callaghan, who was jogging in dense fog before dawn,  left the scene, according to Suffolk County Police.  Officials said they ruled out a medical condition that may have caused Callaghan to be lying in the roadway when he was hit by two westbound vehicles. Both of those vehicles stopped. His widow said at the time that paint was found on her husband’s clothing that did not match the paint on the two cars that did stop after the accident. The paint, she said, was metallic blue, and indicated that there was a third driver who struck her husband and fled the scene.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and the Southold Town Police Department said in March in a release that they were seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the drivers of the vehicles involved in the hit-and-run crash. Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information that could have led to an arrest.

No driver was ever found.

Reflecting on her husband, Callaghan said, “He was the love of my life, and then some. I was very, very blessed, for no matter how much time I had him.”