First Black Ohio Congresswoman Dies

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — A Cleveland Clinic official says Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio has died.

Clinic spokeswoman Eileen Sheil says Tubbs Jones died at 6:12 p.m. Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that burst and left her with limited brain function.

The 58-year-old Tubbs Jones was the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress and a strong critic of the Iraq war. She suffered the hemorrhage while driving her car in her east side district Tuesday evening.

Tubbs Jones "collapsed when she suffered a very serious brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that burst in an inaccessible part of her brain," Kious said during a news conference. A team of doctors who evaluated her determined she had limited brain function.

A brain aneurysm is a bulge in an artery in the brain. It can leak or rupture, causing bleeding in the brain.

Family friend Joe Hewitt asked people to pray for the congresswoman. Family members including Tubbs Jones' son, Mervyn Jones II, attended the news conference but left without commenting.

Tubbs Jones, elected in 1998, was one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's biggest boosters during the primaries and is to be a superdelegate at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Although she backed Barack Obama in June, Tubbs Jones has said Obama can't win unless Clinton's supporters rally behind him.

"She (was) a passionate and tireless advocate for the people of Cleveland and a devoted public servant for all Americans," Obama said in a statement. "We send our heartfelt prayers to Stephanie and her family at this very difficult time."

Tubbs Jones represents the heavily Democratic 11th District and chairs the ethics committee in the House. She's the first black woman to serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, where she opposed President Bush's tax cuts and his efforts to create personal accounts within Social Security.

Several news organizations, including The Associated Press, had earlier reported that Tubbs Jones had died. The AP cited a Democratic official.

The reports prompted Sen. John Kerry to issue a statement mourning her passing.