Indiana and U.S. Capitol flags to be lowered at half-staff for Rep. Jackie Walorski

Hannah Brock, Indianapolis Star
·1 min read
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Editor's note: The Elkhart County Sheriff's Office released a statement Thursday morning saying it had been wrong about the direction in which each vehicle was traveling and about which vehicle crossed the center line. The vehicle Walorski rode in was traveling north, not south, and crossed the center line, police now say.

Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered flags across Indiana to be lowered to honor Rep. Jackie Walorski on Wednesday afternoon.

South Bend Republican Walorski and three others were killed in a crash in Elkhart County around 12:30 p.m.

A car heading north on Indiana 19 drove over the center line and struck another vehicle. The northbound vehicle included Walorski, Zach Potts, 27, and Emma Thomson, 28, who all died in the crash. The driver of the southbound car also died.

Potts was the chairman of the St. Joseph County Republican Party. Thomson was Walorski's communications director. The group was returning from a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Claypool, according to media reports.

What we knowU.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski: What to know about her life, career and death

Reaction Indiana, national leaders react to U.S. Rep. Walorski's death

Holcomb asked Hoosiers to begin flying flags at half-staff immediately and until the date of Walorski's burial.

Leaders across the nation reacted to the news of Walorski's over various social media and expressed their condolences.

Gov. Holcomb said Walorski will be remembered as "a fighter with a huge heart that always went the extra mile," in a statement posted to Facebook.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also ordered flags to be flown half-staff at the U.S. Capitol to honor Walorski. Hours later, the White House announced it too would lower its flags Wednesday and Thursday in honor of Walorski's memory.

Contact Hannah Brock at hannah.brock@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter @hannah_m_brock.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Flags ordered half-staff after U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski killed