A US congresswoman and three other people have died in a car accident in the state of Indiana.
Republican Jackie Walorski was killed in what police say was a head-on collision in Elkhart County around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Ms. Walorski, 58, had represented Indiana’s second congressional district since 2012.
Police say a northbound passenger car traveled left of the center line and collided head-on with a southbound SUV.
The Elkhart County Coroner’s Office and the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office are conducting the investigation.
Ms. Walorski’s communications director, Emma Thomson, 27, and Zachery Potts, 28, the lawmaker’s district director, were also killed, the sheriff’s office confirmed.
The driver of the other vehicle, Edith Schmucker, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Indiana Republican Congressman Jim Banks described Mrs. Walorski as his “dear friend and one of the greatest public servants I have ever met.”
He added: “Everything Jackie did was to serve others. She had a heart of gold and I will miss her dearly.”
Mrs. Walorski and her husband were previously missionaries in Romania, where they established a foundation that provided food and medical supplies to impoverished children.
She worked as a television news reporter in South Bend before her turn in politics.