UPDATE: Pedestrian Killed In Bridgehampton Accident Identified As Anna Pump; Police Identify Driver

UPDATE: Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.

Southampton Town Police have identified the driver of the vehicle as Luis Ortega, 40, of Water Mill. According to police, Mr. Ortega was driving a 1997 Dodge pickup truck west on Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton when he struck Ms. Pump, who was walking in the crosswalk near the post office.

Ms. Pump, of Noyac, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said in a press release issued late Tuesday afternoon. Police later clarified that Ms. Pump was taken to Southampton Hospital by Bridgehampton Fire Department ambulance and pronounced dead there shortly after--Ed.

Mr. Ortega was arrested and charged with circumvention of an interlock device, unlicensed operation of a vehicle, and failing to yield for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. He was taken to police headquarters in Hampton Bays for processing, released for medical treatment, and is due back in Southampton Town Justice Court next month.

Friends and peers were shocked to hear the news of Ms. Pump's death Tuesday, remembering her for not only the skilled chef that she was, but for her kindness, generosity, and elegance.

"She taught me so much about cooking,” said Ina Garten, who first met Ms. Pump back in 1979 when she interview for a job at the Food Network chef's first Barefoot Contessa food shop in Westhampton Beach. “I just remember meeting her and thinking, 'I want to be friends with this woman.' She was incredibly warm and generous to me. Rather than being competitors, we were friends and supporters.”

Eric Lemonides, owner of Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton, tearfully recalled the first time he met Ms. Pump as a teenager when he first patronized the Loaves & Fishes Foodstore in Sagaponack. “She was one of my inspirations out here. Literally, literally, literally,” he said.

Longtime friend Barbara White Ford of Sagaponack often traveled with Ms. Pump and went out for weekly dinners with her after they both lost their husbands years ago. She said she will never forget how hard-working Ms. Pump was, or how much her family meant to her.

“She was full of energy. An incredible role model. And just a wonderful friend,” Ms. Ford said. “She was an amazing person. She lived life to the fullest.”

UPDATE: Tuesday, 3 p.m.

Anna Pump, an author, innkeeper and founder of Loaves & Fishes in Bridgehampton, has died of injuries she suffered when she was struck by a vehicle on Main Street in Bridgehampton on Monday evening. She was 81.

Ms. Pump owned the Bridgehampton Inn and wrote four best-selling cookbooks, the most recent being “Summer on a Plate.”

UPDATE: Monday, 8:55 p.m.

Witnesses at the scene said the victim, an elderly woman, was crossing to the north side of Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton, near the post office, when she was struck by a pickup truck heading west.

The victim was taken to Southampton Hospital by Bridgehampton Fire Department ambulance for unknown injuries.

Montauk Highway between Butter Lane and School Street remained closed as police continue to investigate the accident.

Original Story

Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton was closed between Butter Lane and School Street Monday night as authorities cleared and investigated the scene of a vehicle-versus-pedestrian accident.

According to Southampton Town Police, a call came in around 7:30 p.m. about a woman who was hit by a vehicle on Montauk Highway. Police were unable to specify the nature of her injuries.

The Bridgehampton Fire Department ambulance company also responded to the scene.

No other information was immediately available.