After a thorough investigation, authorities came to the conclusion that the vehicle being driven by a member of Rep. Jackie Walorski’s staff was to blame for the car crash that killed her last month, The Hill reported.
The Toyota RAV4 that staff member Zachery Potts was operating was traveling north when he drifted into the southbound lane in an effort to pass a flatbed truck, according to a release from the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office on Friday. Potts attempted to pass the Toyota as it was moving southward, but they collided.
Additionally, the office came to the conclusion that the collision was caused by excessive speed. It was determined through the crash’s reconstruction that the Toyota was moving at 82 miles per hour just before the accident roughly five seconds earlier. Prior to the airbags inflating, the car was “coasting” and had just slowed to 77 miles per hour.
Walorski, Potts, and Walorski’s communications director Emma Thomson were killed in the accident on August 3 at roughly 12:30 p.m. Additionally dead was the Buick’s driver, Edith Schmucker.
Walorski’s death was determined by the Elkhart medical examiner to be accidental and brought on by the accident-related cervical spine dislocation. The coroner determined that Potts, Thomson, and Schmucker died from the injuries they suffered in the collision.
One day after the collision, police said that the automobile Walorski was a passenger in crossed the centerline of the state highway and caused the head-on collision. Initially, officials claimed that Schmucker’s automobile had strayed into the path of the Toyota.
According to a statement made by the sheriff’s office, airbag control module data demonstrates that Potts left-steered the Toyota just prior to the collision.
After examining mobile phone data from all passengers in both vehicles, investigators did not discover any indication that any cell phones had been used in the moments before the collision. They could not discover any indications of mechanical problems either.
“All of the evidence and information gathered is consistent with someone attempting to pass another vehicle on a two-lane roadway,” the release states.
The police department and the sheriff’s office reached the same conclusions after conducting independent reviews of the evidence with the Indiana State Police.
Walorski, who has served as the 2nd Congressional District’s representative for Indiana since 2013, was up for reelection this year. In conjunction with a general election to choose the person who will retain the seat for the following two years, a special election will be held in November to fill her seat for the remaining portion of her tenure.
Be the first to comment