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Authorities in Indiana have completed their investigation into the deadly crash last month that killed GOP Rep. Jackie Walorski and three others.
According to the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle the late Republican lawmaker was riding in was determined to be “at fault” in the crash that claimed the lives of Walorski and three others.
“Our investigation has determined that the cause of the crash was driving left of center with a contributing factor of excessive speed,” said a sheriff’s office press release on Friday. “The at-fault vehicle was the Toyota RAV4 driven by Zachery Potts.”
Fox News provides more details:
The 58-year-old congresswoman and two of her staffers, 27-year-old Potts and 28-year-old Emma Thomson, were killed last month after the car they were riding in collided with 56-year-old Edith Schmucker on an Indiana highway, killing Schmucker as well.
The final report explained that a witness recounted the Toyota RAV4 being driven by the 27-year-old Potts trailing a flat-bed truck before slowing down in an apparent attempt to create space between the two cars.
“The Toyota was then observed accelerating to a high rate of speed, closing the distance to the unidentified truck,” the sheriff’s report said, according to Fox News. “As the Toyota neared the rear of the truck, it swerved into the southbound lane at which it collided with the southbound Buick driven by Edith Schmucker.”
The report noted further that data from the Toyota’s airbag control module, which is often referred to as a vehicle’s “black box,” indicated that it was traveling at a speed of around 82 miles per hour just five seconds before impact. It also showed that the motor was at “idle speed,” which means that the RAV4 was “coasting.”
Just a millisecond before impact, the vehicle’s speed was 77 miles per hour, the department said, according to Fox News.
“The airbag control module data also showed that the driver of the Toyota RAV4 steered the vehicle left just prior to the crash,” says the report. “The amount of steering input was consistent with normal operation of the vehicle and was consistent with the eyewitness account.”
The investigation also found that no one in the vehicle was using a cell phone in the moments before the deadly crash. Also, there were no signs of any mechanical failure, Fox News reported.
“All of the evidence and information gathered is consistent with someone attempting to pass another vehicle on a two-lane roadway,” the report concluded.
Tributes to Walorski from both sides of the political aisle in Washington, D.C., poured in upon the news of her death.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am sharing this statement from the Office of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski,” Republican House Minority Leader and California Rep. Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter.
“I’m shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and the other victims of this terrible crash. 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,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on Twitter.
“Jackie was a very good friend. I’m devastated. This is a major loss for our community,” Rep. Jake Teshka said.
“My heart is broken for Dean, the Walorski family, and all who knew and loved my friend Jackie. Jackie was a true public servant –selfless, humble, and compassionate. She was a devout Christian, a passionate advocate for life, and a leader among Hoosier representatives. Everything Jackie did was to serve others,” Rep. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, added.
“Before Congress, she served in the Indiana Statehouse and she and her husband served as missionaries in Romania where they provided impoverished children food and medical care. From my first day in Congress, Jackie showed me kindness and grace. She had a heart of gold, and I will miss her dearly. Please join Amanda and I in praying for Jackie’s loved ones and the friends and family of her two staff members who also lost their lives in this tragic accident,” Banks said.
