Police: Initial info wrong, U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski's vehicle crossed center line

[Another iPhone user driving death]

In article <t2t6pt$3rlrk$***@news.freedyn.de>
***@gmail.com wrote:
ELKHART — A car carrying U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-2nd
District) was the vehicle that apparently crossed the center
line of Indiana 19 and collided with oncoming traffic, according
to new information from the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department.

The Wednesday crash killed four people, including Walorski, and
two others in the car at the time — 27-year-old Zach Potts and
28-year-old Emma Thomson. Nappanee resident Edith Schmucker, 56,
was driving the other direction and was hit by Walorski's
vehicle and also died at the scene.

Walorski, 58, has served Indiana's 2nd district in the U.S.
House of Representatives since 2013.

Potts was the chairman of the St. Joseph County Republican
Party. Thomson was Walorski's communications director. The group
was reportedly returning from a ribbon-cutting ceremony in
Claypool.

The information provided by Elkhart County police Thursday runs
counter to what the department initially said regarding the
circumstances of the crash. Police originally said that
Schmucker was driving a maroon Buick LeSabre northbound on
Indiana 19 when she crossed the center line and hit a silver
Toyota RAV 4 driven by Potts going south.

Police now say Walorski and her team were driving north and
Potts "crossed the center line for reasons that are unknown at
this time" and hit Schmucker, who was driving south. The crash
occurred just south of the roundabout where Indiana 19 connects
with Indiana 119.

"The information from the preliminary investigation at the
scene, as to the direction of travel of the vehicles, was not
correct," a release from Elkhart county police states, adding
they became aware of eyewitnesses and video evidence that
contradicted the initial report.

Congresswoman remembered:Local officials react to Jackie
Walorski's death

Tribune messages to the Elkhart sheriff's office and the Elkhart
County coroner have not been returned as of Thursday morning.
Indianapolis TV station Fox59 reported before 8 p.m. Wednesday
night that the department had retracted its initial statement,
but The Tribune was unable to verify the retraction. The
department released a new statement at 10:26 a.m. Thursday
correcting the error. The department's Facebook page was updated
to correct the error at 11:05 a.m. Thursday.

The release adds that everyone involved in the crash was wearing
their seatbelts and that airbags did deploy.

https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/local/2022/08/04/us-
rep-jackie-walorski-car-crossed-center-line-police-now-
say/65391954007/

[Another iPhone user driving death]

In article <t2td4t$3rpgj$***@news.freedyn.de>
***@gmail.com wrote:
Editor's note: The Elkhart County Sheriff's Office released a
statement Thursday morning saying it had been wrong about the
direction in which each vehicle was traveling and about which
vehicle crossed the center line. The vehicle Walorski rode in
was traveling north, not south, and crossed the center line,
police now say.

ELKHART — U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-2nd District) was killed
in a car crash in Elkhart County on Wednesday, according to the
Elkhart County Sheriff's Department.

Three other people were killed in the crash, which took place
while Walorski and two others were in a sport-utility vehicle
heading north on Indiana 19 south of Wakarusa around 12:30 p.m.,
according to police. The vehicle Walorski rode in was driven by
Zachery Potts and crossed the center line for "reasons unknown
at this time," colliding with another sport-utility vehicle
going south.

Potts, 27, and Emma Thomson, 28, were with Walorski, and both
were killed in the crash.

Walorski, 58, has served Indiana's 2nd district in the U.S.
House of Representatives since 2013.

Potts was the chairman of the St. Joseph County Republican
Party. Thomson was Walorski's communications director. The group
was returning from a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Claypool,
Indiana, at a soybean processing facility.

Congresswoman remembered:Indiana, national leaders react to U.S.
Rep. Walorski's death

Elkhart County police are still investigating the crash. The
driver of the southbound car was identified Wednesday afternoon
as Edith Schmucker, 56, of Nappanee, and she was pronounced dead
at the scene.

“Larger than life and possessing an infectious personality that
captured the attention of every room, Congresswoman Walorski was
a fierce advocate for her district," said Susan Baxmeyer, the
vice chair of the St. Joseph County Republican Party, in a
statement. "Never once was she without a smile, or a kind word,
or a rousing and inspiring message. She poured her heart and
soul into each day’s work.

"And while this district is losing an incredible representative,
the bigger loss is that of a loyal friend."

“Jackie’s work on behalf of our community, the state of Indiana
and to the United States of America stands as a testament to the
power of a passionate and powerful voice, and her extraordinary
leadership can and has made a difference, first in our
community, then in Indiana, and now across the United States,"
Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood said.

"A strong woman of deep and enduring faith, Jackie’s legacy
stands as a model to all of us to an unwavering service to
others and our Country above self. She is and will forever be a
patriot," he added. "Jackie will be missed."

Baxmeyer said that Potts became involved in the local Republican
party as a high school student. Along with serving as the county
party chair, he was also the district director for Walorski and
the district chair on the Indiana Republican Party State
Committee.

Mike Bellovich, a Republican who has served on the Mishawaka
Common Council since 2012, said Potts, just 27, had done well to
move the county Republican party forward.

"He was not someone who ever accepted the odds," Baxmeyer said
of Potts in her statement. "Tell him it could not be done, and
he worked even harder. There was always a new challenge to
tackle, another project to take on and a campaign to win."

Walorski's local roots
Walorski, 58, was born and raised in the Gilmer Park
neighborhood just outside South Bend’s southern city limits. Her
father Raymond was a South Bend firefighter who owned an
appliance repair shop and her mother Martha worked as a meat
cutter at a grocery store.

Jackie Walorski
After attending Liberty Baptist College and graduating from
Taylor University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and
public administration, she spent the first four years of her
career as a reporter for WSBT-TV.

From there she held leadership or fund-raising positions at the
St. Joseph County Humane Society, Ancilla College, the South
Bend Regional Chamber and Indiana University South Bend, before
founding and operating a Christian ministry in Romania for four
years with her husband, Dean Swihart. The couple live in the
Jimtown area of Elkhart County.

Walorski was elected to the Indiana House in 2004, 2006 and 2008
before losing her first congressional election in 2010 to two-
term incumbent Joe Donnelly. But after the Republican-controlled
Indiana General Assembly redrew the sprawling 10-county district
to remove Michigan City, historically home to more Democrats,
and added heavily Republican areas of Elkhart and Kosciusko
counties, she narrowly beat Democrat Brendan Mullen in 2012. She
won by 21 percentage points in 2014, 18 points in 2016 and 14
points in 2018 but has never won St. Joseph County.

https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/local/2022/08/03/u-s-
rep-jackie-walorski-killed-in-elkhart-county-car-
crash/65391271007/