Walorski crash: Methamphetamine and alcohol in the blood of other driver contributed to crash, investigation found
The full report of the crash that killed U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski and three others, obtained exclusively by Crossroads Report, shows that the driver whose vehicle was hit head-on had alcohol and drugs in her system, and that this was found to be a contributing factor in the crash.
Edith Schmucker, age 56, who was driving the car that was hit by the Toyota Rav4 driven by Walorski staffer Zach Potts, had a blood alcohol content of 0.05 at the time of the crash and tested positive for both amphetamine and methamphetamine, a toxicology test showed.
In its report, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department lists this as the third contributing factor in the Aug. 3 crash.
The first cause listed was the high rate of speed of the driver of the other vehicle, Zachery Potts, who was going 82 miles per hour five seconds before the collision and 77 miles per hour at the time of the collision. The second cause listed is that his vehicle had crossed the double yellow line and was traveling northbound in the southbound lane.
Surely, these are the primary causes of the accident.
But could the terrible collision have been avoided?
Could Schmucker and the other drivers heading south have gotten out of the way of the Toyota Rav4 that, for some unknown reason, was speeding towards them in the wrong lane?
Amphetamine and methamphetamine, usually just called “meth” or “crystal meth” are stimulants that are often sold as street drugs and used by people recreationally to increase their energy level, although both can also be prescribed for the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and sometimes narcolepsy.
Illegal possession of amphetamine and methamphetamine are both felonies in Indiana.
The investigation report says the toxicology test showed 39 ng/ML of amphetamine and 240 ng/ML of methamphetamine.
The legal limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) to drive in Indiana is 0.08.
At 0.05, Schmucker would have been under this limit and therefore able to drive legally, but may still have been affected.
A meta-study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the NIH, looked at 112 studies of car crashes involving alcohol and found that at 0.05 percent BAC, most studies reported “significant impairment.”
Specifically, studies showed that visual perception, eye movement, glare resistance and reaction time were impaired starting at a BAC of 0.05 percent, and that the risk of a fatal crash increased with increasing BAC.
Schmucker lived in Nappanee.
On Aug. 3 at 12:01 p.m., she’d clocked out of work at Miller’s Merry Manor, the assisted living facility in Wakarusa where she worked caring for the elderly.
She got in her car and was heading south on State Road 19. She had just come out of the roundabout at the junction with State Road 119 and was accelerating when her maroon Buick LeSabre was hit head-on by the Toyota Rav4 driven by Zach Potts, the district director for Rep. Walorski.
The collision was so violent that the engine of her car was shoved up into the passenger compartment, breaking her legs. She died on impact or seconds after, as the first people on the scene told the 911 operator that they could tell she was deceased.
An examination of the airbag control module showed that five seconds before the crash, she was going 43 miles per hour and just before the crash had accelerated to 48 miles per hour.
The speed limit was 45 miles per hour, but increased to 55 miles per hour as the road straightened out again after the roundabout.
She had applied the brakes for just one second before the crash.
There were no tire marks found on the road and witnesses reported no sound of squealing tires before the collision.
All four people in both vehicles were killed, including Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2), Zachery Potts, Walorski communications director Emma Thomson and Edith Schmucker.
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Not buying it. Her actions are not consistent with someone DUI, but his are very consistent with someone having a "medical emergency". She starts accelerating moderately as the speed limit rises. He, (a known very safe driver), rapidly accelerates and leaves his lane of travel as his body spasms like the thousands of others we've seen. He desperately grips the steering wheel and jambs his foot down on the gas pedal.
As noted, 0.05 is not even legally DUI. If she was a completely sober, off-track NASCAR driver, perhaps she could've a avoided the collision, but then what?
(Side note; aren't pronouns handy?)
Did Zachery Potts get the jab?