The woman who died in an automobile crash on Interstate 35 on Wednesday was a former state legislator in Iowa.

Barbara Finch, 56, was elected as a Republican to the Iowa Legislature in 2000. She represented an area near Ames, Iowa, and left office in 2002 after redistricting. According to the Ames Tribune, she then ran for the Iowa Senate against Democrat Herman Quirmbach but lost.

Finch died when the northbound Toyota van she was driving was struck by a southbound Dodge pickup driven by an Arizona man. The pickup crossed the median after losing control on an icy surface. Her van then struck a semi driven by Robert Brandt of Litchfield, who was driving a Freightliner semi.

Finch’s daughter, 25, was injured but survived.

The Ames Tribune reported: “Finch’s husband, Robert Finch, said Finch and their daughter were headed to Minnesota to visit their son, who had recently graduated from college. The Finches have three children. Funeral arrangements are pending at Stevens Memorial Chapel in Ames.”

Finch also was a former president of the Story County Farm Bureau.

Finch’s death was the 14th traffic fatality in Freeborn County in 2008.