Rep. Marcy Kaptur, 80, Is Hospitalized After a Hit-and-Run Driver Struck Her Car on the Way to Church
The longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. House was a passenger when her vehicle was hit Sunday morning in Toledo. Police say the other driver was picked up by a second car and fled the scene.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur was taken to a hospital Sunday morning after a driver crashed into her vehicle in Toledo and then fled on foot, according to Toledo police and the congresswoman's office.
The collision happened just before 11 a.m. at the intersection of Detroit Avenue and Central Avenue, on the city's west side. Kaptur, 80, was riding in the passenger seat and was on her way to a church service. She and her campaign manager, Kegan Zimmermann, were both transported to a hospital with injuries that police described as non-life-threatening.
"She is active, alert, and being treated for non-life threatening injuries," her office said in a statement.
Toledo police classified the crash as a "hit-skip" — Ohio's term for a hit-and-run — and said the investigation is active and ongoing. A witness told CBS affiliate WTOL 11 that the driver who struck Kaptur's car got out, was picked up by a second vehicle that pulled up moments later, and left the scene. As of Sunday evening, no arrest had been announced and police had not publicly identified a suspect.
Kaptur has represented northwest Ohio since 1983 and is the longest-serving woman in the history of the House of Representatives. Her district, Ohio's 9th, stretches along Lake Erie and has become one of the most closely watched swing seats in the country; she has survived a series of narrowing races there in recent cycles and is on the ballot again in November. She is also the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Energy Department, a post that has kept her at the center of this summer's spending fights in Washington.
The reaction from Ohio politicians crossed party lines within hours. Sen. Jon Husted, the Ohio Republican, said he was relieved the injuries were not worse and that he hoped "the person responsible for this reckless act is apprehended quickly." Colleagues from both parties posted similar messages through Sunday afternoon.
Hit-and-run crashes have been rising in Ohio's largest cities, a trend local officials have linked in part to uninsured driving. Toledo police asked anyone who saw the collision or the second vehicle to contact investigators, and said detectives were reviewing nearby surveillance footage.
The House is scheduled to leave Washington at the end of this week for its August recess, and members had been expected back in their districts regardless. Kaptur's office did not say Sunday how long she would remain hospitalized or whether the injuries would affect her schedule.
Originally reported by CBS News.