Former state Sen. Edwin Gomes died Tuesday morning, nine days after he was involved in a head-on car crash on Dec. 13.

Friends and colleagues say Gomes left his mark on the city of Bridgeport and the state of Connecticut during his 35+ years in local and state politics. He was also a Bridgeport native.

Gomes was a steelworker when he first joined Bridgeport City Council, then rose to the state legislature in 2005.

He was elected again in 2015 with the Working Families Party.

Gomes' niece LaToya Johnson says her uncle's commitment to struggling Bridgeport families is what drove him, even sometimes to opposition with other Bridgeport Democrats.

"I think that he always cared to try to make change," she said. "I think that him actually trying to go for the working people, he just wanted to see everybody equal, see everybody happy -- so I think that's what made him go as far as he did with the political career."

The cause of that crash remains under investigation.