A church on Capitol Hill honored a 28-year-old congressional staffer and parishioner who was killed in a crash in Indiana on Wednesday with U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski and two others.
Emma Thomson, of D.C., was killed in the head-on crash in Elkhart County along with Walorski, 58; fellow staffer Zachery Potts, 27, of Mishawaka, Indiana; and Edith Schmucker, 56, of Nappanee, Indiana, the sheriff's office said.
Thomson worked as Walorski’s communications director. She was an active member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church for eight years, Assistant Pastor Ben Lacey told News4.
“Emma was so well-loved by her church, and she was a faithful servant of her church,” he said.
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More than 100 people gathered for a special service Wednesday night to honor Thomson. Lacey said he was working to comfort them.
“We’re thankful she’s with the Lord now and at peace, but we grieve her loss,” he said.
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The church is planning a formal memorial service.
The deadly crash occurred at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when Schmucker’s car crossed the center line of a state highway and hit Walorski’s SUV dead-on, the sheriff’s office said. All four people were killed.
Walorski, who served on the House Ways and Means Committee, was first elected to represent Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District in 2012. She previously served six years in the state's legislature. She was a reliable Republican vote in Congress, including against accepting the Arizona and Pennsylvania electoral votes for Biden following the Capitol insurrection. As a member of the Indiana House, she pushed anti-abortion legislation and became a favorite of the conservative tea party movement.
Thomson attended The George Washington University and had worked as communications director for Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas and Rep. John Joyce of Pennsylvania, her LinkedIn page says. She graduated from Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the city’s Tribune-Democrat newspaper reported.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
