Jackie Walorski, a Republican US congresswoman from Indiana, was killed in a car crash on Wednesday, her office said in a statement shared by House minority leader Kevin McCarthy.
"Dean Swihart, Jackie's husband, was just informed by the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office that Jackie was killed in a car accident this afternoon," it read.
US President Joe Biden shared his condolences in a statement on Wednesday evening.
"Jill and I are shocked and saddened by the death of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana, along with two members of her staff in a car accident today in Indiana," he said.
"Born in her beloved South Bend as the daughter of a meat-cutter and firefighter, she spent a lifetime serving the community that she grew up in — as a journalist, a non-profit director, a state legislator and eventually as a member of Congress for the past nine and half years."
The White House fly its American flags at half-staff to honour the representative.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also ordered the flags at the US Capitol to be flown at half-staff.
"Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers," her office said. "We will have no further comment at this time."
Walorski, 58, represented Indiana's Second Congressional district since 2013.
She was running for her sixth term in office this autumn and was the top Republican on the US House ethics committee.
Former vice president Mike Pence, who was a governor of Indiana, said Walorski served "in the state House and the Congress with integrity and principle for nearly two decades, and will be deeply missed".
