U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski was killed Wednesday in an automobile crash in her northern Indiana district along with members of her congressional staff and another person, police stated
The crash happened about 12:30 pm while a car crossed the centre line on a state highway and collided head-on with the SUV Walorski was driving in, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office stated. The government indicated that three people in the SUV, including Walorski, 58, had been killed, and so did the lady using the opposite car.
Walorski served on the House Ways and Means Committee and was elected first to represent Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District in 2012. She formerly served six years in the state’s Legislature.
Walorski was interested in reelection this year for a 6th term in the solidly Republican district.
“She has to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please put her family in your prayers,” Walorski’s chief of staff, Tim Cummings, stated.
Walorski and her husband were previously Christian missionaries in Romania, where they set up a foundation that provided meals and medical resources to impoverished children. She laboured as a tv information reporter in South Bend before turning to politics.
Also killed in the crash were Zachery Potts, aged 27, of Mishawaka, Indiana; Emma Thomson, old 28, of Washington, D.C.; and Edith Schmucker, aged 56, of Nappanee, Indiana, according to the sheriff’s office.
It was confirmed that Potts and Thomson were Walorski’s congressional staff members. Thompson was Walorski’s communications director at the same time as Potts was her district director and the Republican chairman for northern Indiana’s St. Joseph nation.
Schmucker was using the opposite automobile, according to the sheriff’s office. The crash, which happened in a rural location close to the town of Wakarusa, is still under investigation.
Sen. Todd Young, the Indiana Republican, stated he had been devastated” by Walorski’s death.
“Jackie cherished Hoosiers and dedicated her life to fighting for them,” Young stated. “I’ll never forget her spirit, positive attitude, and most importantly, her friendship. All of Indiana mourns her passing, along with the tragic deaths of her group of workers, Emma Thomson and Zach Potts. Please join me in praying for their households in this tough time.”
