Jackie Walorski who represented Indiana’s 2nd Congressional district died in a car accident with two staffers, Zachery Potts and Emma Thompson.
UPDATE: 8/4/2022 1805
Police have changed their description of the crash that killed Walorski saying Thursday that it was the SUV in which she was a passenger that crossed a state highway’s centerline and caused the head-on collision.
The department’s initial account was that the car driven by Edith Schmucker crossed into the SUV’s path, but the office released a statement Thursday saying investigators had talked with witnesses and viewed video evidence that their preliminary determination of which direction the vehicles were traveling was incorrect.
Investigators determined that the SUV driven by Potts crossed the centerline for unknown reasons in a rural area near the town of Wakarusa.
Original: 8/3/2022 2147
The 58-year-old Indiana GOP Representative was killed in a head-on collision on Wednesday in Elkhart County, Indiana along with her district director Zachery Potts, 27, and her Communications Director Emma Thomson, 28
“On August 3, 2022, at approximately 12:32 PM the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-vehicle crash on SR 19 south of SR 119,” the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital in a statement. “A northbound passenger car traveled left of center and collided head-on with a southbound sports utility vehicle. All three occupants in the southbound vehicle died as a result of their injuries: Jackie Walorski, 58, Elkhart, Indiana Zachery Potts, 27, Mishawaka, Indiana Emma Thomson, 28, Washington, DC The sole occupant of the northbound vehicle, Edith Schmucker, 56, Nappanee, Indiana was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
“Dean Swihart, Jackie’s husband, was just informed by the Elkhart County Sheriff’s office that Jackie was killed in a car accident this afternoon. She has returned home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Walorski’s office said in a statement. “Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. In addition to the devastating loss of Congresswoman Walorski, it is with a broken heart that I announce the passing of two dedicated members of her staff, Zach Potts and Emma Thomson. They were the epitome of public servants who cared deeply about the work they performed on behalf of the constituents of Indiana’s Second Congressional District.”
The Elkhart County Coroner’s Office and the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the accident.
She served in the House for nearly a decade, having been first elected in 2012 after serving five years in the Indiana State House. The South Bend native served on the House Ways and Means Committee and was also the ranking member of the House Ethics Committee.
“I am devastated to learn of the passing of my good friend, Congresswoman Jackie Walorski,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “She was an incredible public servant for Hoosiers and leader within the Republican Party. The entire Republican National Committee is praying for her family, as well as the families of the two staff who were also tragically killed.”
