NAPPANEE — The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office has made a correction on its initial report in the crash that claimed the lives of four people, including U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, Wednesday.
In a statement released Thursday morning, the sheriff’s office said they received updated information as to the direction of travel of the vehicles and which vehicle crossed the center line.
“The continuing investigation has located eyewitness and video evidence,” the release reads. “Both confirm that the maroon Buick LeSabre driven by Edith Schmucker, 56, Nappanee, Indiana, was southbound on SR 19 south of SR 119 and the silver Toyota RAV 4, driven by Zachery Potts, 27, Mishawaka, Indiana, was northbound on SR 19. The Toyota RAV 4 crossed the centerline for reasons that are unknown at this time and the two vehicles collided.”
The statement reveals that all occupants of both vehicles were confirmed to have been wearing seatbelts and airbags did deploy. The Sheriff’s Office is continuing to interview witnesses and collect evidence from the scene and vehicles.
If anyone has information or witnessed this crash, they are asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office.
Killed in the crash were Potts, Schmucker and Walorski, 58, Elkhart, and Emma Thomson, 28, Washington, D.C.
Potts was Walorski’s district manager and Thomson was her communications director.
Walorski has represented the 2nd District of Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. She was running for reelection and would have faced Democrat Paul Steury, Goshen, this fall. After learning of the deaths Wednesday, Steury made a statement on his Facebook campaign page “Paul for All 2022”: “I am shocked and saddened by the news of Representative Walorski’s passing. Words are hard to come by in moments like these, especially when such a tragedy happens so suddenly. Rep. Walorski committed her life to service. But having met Jackie as both a constituent and on the campaign trail, it was her kindness, even to those who disagreed with her, that stuck out the most.
“I ask that everyone keep the families of Jackie, Zach Potts, Emma Thompson, and Edith Schmucker in their thoughts and prayers, that we respect the privacy of those who are mourning tonight, and that we all take a moment to hug our loved ones a little tighter this evening.”
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