A former campaign worker for President Barack Obama and her wife were both killed in a head-on automobile collision after a vehicle crossed the center line on a California highway last weekend, reports said.

Peggy Moore, 60, and her wife Hope Wood, 48, died following an incident on Friday night near Fallbrook, San Diego County. According to the California Highway Patrol, they were involved in a three-car crash when a Chrysler veered into oncoming traffic and struck the Jeep in which they were traveling, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.

Their driver and the driver of the vehicle that hit them were both killed. Moore has been described as a ‘giant’ in political circles in the Golden State and has aided Obama, among others.

She served as a deputy field director for Obama’s 2008 campaign and was a senior adviser to former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. The couple first met while working on the Obama campaign and later founded the political consulting firm Hope Action For Change in 2019. On Saturday night, Schaaf led a wake for the couple, joined by friends who gathered to remember them, the outlet reported.

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“It took you two hours to walk anywhere with Peggy — maybe more because she knew everybody,” Schaaf said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m in such deep grief for myself personally because she’s someone I loved and admired so much. And I’m in grief for democracy. (Moore) is someone who believed everyone should have a voice in government. She never gave up on the beautiful essence of democracy, even when it gave up on her. She infused this nuclear love into everything she did.”

Close friend Kimberly Ellis told NBC San Diego: “These were two almost twin flames that couldn’t bear to be apart in this life or in the other, and they really just had to be together when they left. It’s an incredible loss, not just in the professional political world, but in our personal world as well. She was the one that helped to win the Golden State for [Obama]. She helped on the first Hillary Clinton campaign. Any campaign that really had to have a top-notch organizing strategy, they went to Peggy.”

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) also lamented the loss on the X platform: “I’m heartbroken to hear of the tragic loss of Peggy Moore and Hope Wood. Peggy was a friend, an activist, and one of the best organizers I knew. Her passion and fight for justice and equality is what brought her and Hope together.”

“Saddened by the tragic passing of Peggy Moore,” California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks also noted on the X platform. She was an incredible political talent & member of Team CADEM who brought a passion for organizing & a commitment to justice every single day. Our thoughts are with her family & the many friends who loved her. Rest In Power, Peggy.”

Authorities are still determining why the Chrysler’s driver entered the wrong lane, with an ongoing investigation to establish if alcohol or drugs were involved, the Daily Mail reported.

In March, Barack Obama made headlines again after a report said he met with President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president and warned him about Donald Trump’s rise in the polls.

According to a report by TIME Magazine, Obama met with Biden in June last year and expressed concern about Biden’s chances of being re-elected. Obama is said to have advised Biden to adopt a more aggressive approach and make the upcoming presidential race a referendum on Trump’s policies.

During a private lunch, Obama reportedly expressed concerns to Biden about the instability of his campaign, the difficulty in persuading unhappy voters, and the challenge of defeating Trump in the upcoming election, according to a Democrat who was briefed on the conversation.

Obama allegedly saw little improvement in Biden’s actions over the next six months, despite believing at the time that Biden had taken his advice to heart, Fox News noted, citing the TIME report.

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