U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur was hospitalized Sunday morning after the vehicle she was riding in was struck in central Toledo, in a crash police described as a hit-skip.
Kaptur, 80, was a passenger in a car headed to a church service when it was hit, her office said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
“This morning Congresswoman Kaptur was a passenger in a vehicle on her way to a church service when the car she was traveling in was struck. She is active, alert, and being treated for non-life threatening injuries,” the statement said.
Officers responded to the two-vehicle crash about 10:48 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, in the 3200 block of N. Detroit Avenue near Central Avenue, according to the Toledo Police Department. Two people were taken to a hospital with injuries police described as non‑life‑threatening.
A witness told WTOL 11 that the driver of the other vehicle was picked up by another car and left the scene shortly after the crash. It is not clear whether that driver has been located.
Toledo police said the investigation is active, ongoing and in its early stages, and that more information will be released as it becomes available. N. Detroit Avenue was closed from Arcadia Avenue to the Berdan Avenue and Cherry Street roundabout while officers investigated and crews cleared the scene.
Kaptur’s office said it expects to learn more from investigators. “We look forward to additional information from Toledo Police as they investigate the accident,” the statement said. Her office also thanked Toledo police and fire crews who responded and the medical staff treating those involved, and said Kaptur is grateful to the hundreds of constituents who have contacted her and expects to return to a full schedule soon.
The crash was also reported by WTVG, which said officials at the scene identified Kaptur as one of the two people injured, and by Fox News.
Why northwest Ohio is watching
Kaptur has represented Ohio’s 9th Congressional District since 1983 and is the longest‑serving woman in congressional history. She is seeking a 23rd term this fall in one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the country.
She ran unopposed in the May 5 Democratic primary and faces Republican Derek Merrin, a former state representative from Lucas County, in the Nov. 3 general election, Roll Call reported. It is a rematch of 2024, when Kaptur beat Merrin by less than a percentage point.
The district she is defending is not the one she won two years ago. Under the map the Ohio Redistricting Commission approved last fall, President Donald Trump would have carried the redrawn 9th District by 11 points, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales cited by Roll Call. Inside Elections rates the fall contest Tilt Republican.
The 9th District covers Toledo and runs west along Lake Erie. Seneca County is outside its lines, but the seat is one of a small number nationally that could decide control of the U.S. House.
This is a developing story.
