Jacqueline Badger Mars Not Killed in Fatal Car Crash

Jacqueline Badger Mars was not killed in a car crash, though she was driving one of the cars involved. 

It was incorrectly reported by CBS and possibly some other news outlets that Mars was killed in the car crash.

Mars, an owner of candy company Mars Inc., was driving an SUV that was involved in a fatal crash but was not herself killed.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says Mars, who turns 74 Thursday, was driving a Porsche SUV in Aldie on Friday when it crossed the center line and hit a minivan. The sheriff’s office says 86-year-old minivan passenger Irene Ellisor of Huntsville, Texas, was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene.

The driver of the minivan was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital and remains hospitalized, reported Leesburg Today. A passenger in the minivan was also taken to the hospital but has since been released.

Three other passengers in the van were taken to area hospitals. All of the people in the minivan were women from Texas.

Mars was taken to Stone Springs Medical Center, then Inova Fairfax Hospital, and has since been released.

A Mars spokesman says the tragedy has left Mars “filled with sorrow for the loss of life” and the injured. Mars is the company founder’s daughter and has been ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world’s seventh richest woman and 15th richest person.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney is reviewing the matter.

Mars is known as a philantropist and was honored in 2012 with the Foundation for the National Archives’ Heritage Award for “her commitment to preserving documents that celebrate our nation’s heritage,” according to A'Lelia Bundles, president of the Society for the National Archives in the announcement of the award.

In the statement about the crash, spokesman Kent Jarrell said that the crash is “a private family matter,” as opposed to “a company matter.”

Mars joined Mars. Inc in 1982 and was the food product group president for many years, before retiring in 2001. She continues to serve as a strategic adviser to the business.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.