Topline
Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) died in a car crash in Elkhart County in northern Indiana on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R) confirmed.
Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) was killed in a car crash in Indiana Wednesday. (Photo By Tom … [+]
Key Facts
Walorski, 58, died after a car traveling in the other direction crossed the center line and collided head-on with her vehicle, killing the representative as well as her communications director Emma Thomson, 28, and district director Zachary Potts, 27, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in an email to Forbes.
Edith Schmucker, 56, the driver of the other vehicle, was also pronounced dead on the scene.
An investigation by the Elkhart County Coroner’s Office and county sheriff’s office into the crash is ongoing.
Key Background
Walorski had been in office since 2013, representing Indiana’s 2nd District, which includes Elkhart County and South Bend. At the time of her passing, she served on the House Ways and Means Committee and was a ranking member of the House Ethics Committee and the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support. Before getting elected to Congress, she served as a state representative for three terms.
Tangent
Current and former Indiana lawmakers expressed their grief over Walorski’s death on social media Wednesday. Transportation Secretary and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg tweeted, “Though we came from very different places politically, she was always prepared to work together where there was common ground, always decent and straightforward, and she cared deeply about her work and her constituents.”
This is a developing story; it will be updated.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/08/03/rep-jackie-walorski-killed-in-indiana-car-crash/