The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office said in a release Friday that the cause of the crash was that the Toyota RAV4 driven by Officer Zachery Potts was northbound when he swerved into the southbound lane while trying to pass a flatbed truck. The Toyota collided with a Buick traveling south as Potts attempted to pass the truck. The office also concluded that excessive speed played a role in the accident. Evidence from the crash reconstruction showed the Toyota was traveling at 82 miles per hour about five seconds before the crash occurred. The vehicle was “looking” and dropped to 77 mph milliseconds before the airbags deployed. The crash occurred on August 3 around 12:30 p.m., killing Walorski, Potts and Emma Thomson, Walorski’s director of communications. The driver of the Buick, Edith Schmucker, was also killed. The Elkhart County Medical Examiner ruled Walorski’s death accidental and caused by a dislocation of the cervical spine as a result of the accident. Potts, Thomson and Schmucker died from multiple injuries sustained in the crash, the medical examiner ruled. Police changed their initial account of what happened a day after the crash, announcing that the car Walorski was riding in crossed the center line of the state highway and caused the head-on crash. Officials initially said Schmucker’s car crossed into the path of the Toyota. The sheriff’s office release says air bag monitoring unit data shows Potts steered the Toyota to the left shortly before the crash. Investigators found no evidence of cell phone use prior to the crash after reviewing cell phone information from all occupants of both vehicles. They also found no evidence of mechanical damage. Biden says he’s running. Democrats still have doubts about Biden signing bill to end statute of limitations on child sex abuse victims “All evidence and information gathered is consistent with someone trying to pass another vehicle on a two-lane road,” the statement said. The sheriff’s office consulted the Indiana State Police for an independent review of the evidence, and the police department reached the same conclusions. Walorski has represented Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District since 2013 and was running for re-election this year. A special election will be held in November to fill her seat for the remainder of the term, at the same time as a general election to determine who will hold the seat for the next two years.
