U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski Of Indiana Killed In Car Crash

NAPPANEE, IN — U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, a Republican who represented Indiana's 2nd congressional district since 2013, was killed in a car crash south of Elkhart on Wednesday, her office confirmed.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy shared a statement from Walorski's office on Twitter.

"She has returned home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," the statement read. "Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Walorski was among four people killed in a crash near the intersection of State Roads 19 and 119 near Nappanee, according to the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office. The crash happened just after 12:30 p.m. CT.

Walorski; Zachery Potts, 27, of Mishawaka; and Emma Thomson, 28, of Washington, D.C., were traveling in a northbound SUV driven by Potts that crossed the center line and collided with a southbound car solely occupied by Edith Schmucker, 56, of Nappanee, police said. Potts, Thomson and Schmucker were also killed. Police changed their account of the crash Thursday after originally misstating which direction the vehicles were traveling and which vehicle crossed the center.

Born and raised in South Bend, Walorski called herself a "lifelong Hoosier." She served on the House Ways and Means Committee and was the ranking member of the subcommittee on Worker and Family Support. She also served as a ranking member of the House Ethics Committee.

Walorski was first elected to Congress in 2012. Before that, she served three terms in the Indiana Statehouse, where she became assistant floor leader and worked with then-Gov. Mitch Daniels on tax reform, health care and growing the state's economy.

Walorski was the daughter of a firefighter, a small business owner and an Air Force veteran. She and her husband, Dean, a Mishawaka school teacher, lived in Jimtown. They previously spent four years as missionaries in Romania, where they started and ran a foundation to provide food and medical supplies to impoverished children.

Walorski has also worked as a TV reporter in South Bend and as a development director for colleges and universities in Indiana.

Reaction to Walorski's death poured in immediately and from both sides of the aisle.

"My heart is heavy, and I don’t have the words," Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois tweeted. "But all I can say is prayers for her family. She was a good and honorable public servant."

"My prayers are with the family and staff of my colleague, Congresswoman Jackie Walorski and the others who were tragically killed in a traffic collision today," Rep. Val Demings of Florida tweeted. "Please keep them in your thoughts."

"Just seeing the awful news about Rep. Jackie Walorski. Heartbreaking," Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado tweeted. "I'll be praying for her family after this awful and shocking tragedy. May God surround and comfort them all."

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said he was "shocked and saddened" by the news.

"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," Buttigieg tweeted.