Tipsheet

GOP Rep. Jackie Walorski Killed in Car Accident

U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski, a Republican representing Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, was killed Wednesday in a car accident that also claimed the lives of two congressional aides — her District Director Zachery Potts (27) and Communications Director Emma Thomson (28). Rep. Walorski was 58.

According to the local ABC affiliate, "the crash happened at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday between two vehicles near the intersection of SR 19 and SR 119" in Walorki's district. The Elkhart County Sheriff's Office provided more details in a statement reported by a local radio station:

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. A northbound passenger car traveled left of center and collided head on with a southbound sports utility vehicle.

The sole occupant of the northbound vehicle, Edith Schmucker, 56, Nappanee, Indiana was pronounced deceased at the scene.

A statement from Walorski's office shared by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) confirmed the tragic accident.

"Jackie's husband was just informed by the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office that Jackie was killed in a car accident this afternoon," the statement read. "She has returned home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers."

Walorski was known as a conservative warrior in her service to the people of Indiana's 2nd Congressional District since 2012 and a staunch defender of the rights of the unborn. 

Born and raised in South Bend, Walorski's was a life of service. She and her husband Dean spent four years as missionaries in Romania where their work focused on getting food and medical supplies to impoverished children. Prior to being elected to Congress in 2012, Walorski served three terms in the Indiana Statehouse. In the U.S. House, Walorski served on the Ways and Mean Committee and as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support and House Ethics Committee.

Earlier in her tenure as a U.S. Representative, Walorski served on the House Armed Services Committee, House Veterans' Affairs Committee, the Budget Committee, and the House Agriculture Committee.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks — a fellow Hoosier in Congress — released a statement calling Walorski "a true public servant - selfless, humble, and compassionate." 

Tributes and kind remembrances quickly poured in for one of Capitol Hill's "best" on Twitter from both sides of the aisle, showing how many lives she brightened: