CONGRESSWOMAN TUBBS JONES DIES

Cleveland – In a statement released just before 7PM Wednesday evening, the Cleveland Clinic said that United States Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones condition, since suffering a brain aneurysm and hemorrhage, had deteriorated throughout the day. The Congresswoman was pronounced dead at 6:12PM.

The Cleveland Heights Police Department said that one of their Officers observed the Congresswoman around 9PM Tuesday night traveling east on Mayfield Road and that she was weaving. She then turned onto Lee Road and that is when the Officer attempted to pull her vehicle over. The Congresswoman first pulled over to the side of the road but then the Officer reports that the car started rolling across the road and into the oncoming traffic. The Officer blocked the southbound lanes of Lee Road and went to the Congresswoman and realized immediately that she was having a medical emergency. Paramedics were called to the scene by Police and the Congresswoman was taken to Huron Hospital in East Cleveland where she never regained consciousness.

A brain aneurysm, also called a cerebral or intracranial aneurysm, is an abnormal bulging outward of one of the arteries in the brain. It is estimated that up to one in 15 people in the United States will develop a brain aneurysm during their lifetime.

Brain aneurysms are often discovered when they rupture, causing bleeding into the brain or the space closely surrounding the brain called the subarachnoid space, causing a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured brain aneurysm can lead to a hemorrhagic stroke, brain damage and death.

The main goals of treatment once an aneurysm has ruptured are to stop the bleeding and potential permanent damage to the brain and to reduce the risk of recurrence. Unruptured brain aneurysms are sometimes treated to prevent rupture. http://brainaneurysm.com/

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was the first African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. Congresswoman Jones was a lifelong resident of the 11th District, which encompasses most of the East Side of Cleveland and parts of the West Side of Cleveland and includes parts of 22 suburbs.

The Congresswoman made a number of historic achievements in her distinguished career as a public servant. Prior to her election to the House, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones served as the first African-American and the first female Cuyahoga County, Ohio Prosecutor. She was the first African-American woman to sit on the Common Pleas bench in the State of Ohio and was a Municipal Court Judge in the City of Cleveland.

The Congresswoman was a graduate of Cleveland Public Schools. She received her undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, graduating with a degree in Social Work from the Flora Mather College in 1971. She received her Juris Doctorate form Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1974. Additionally, she has received honorary doctorates from David N. Myers University, Notre Dame College and Central State University.

The Congresswoman was married to Mervyn L. Jones, Sr., deceased (2003), for 27 years and is the proud mother of Mervyn Leroy Jones, II.

The statement by the Cleveland Clinic went onto say: "She dedicated her life in public service to helping others and will continue to do so through organ donations. Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time."