Four Indians have reportedly died in a crash involving five vehicles in Texas. The victims, who had connected through a carpooling app, were going to Bentonville in Arkansas last week when the incident took place. Their bodies were charred after the crash led to a fire in the SUV they were in.
The collision to place just past White Street at around 3:30 pm on Friday, August 31, according to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.
Who were the victims?
The victims have been identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Darshini Vasudevan, according to NDTV. While Orampati and his friend Shaik were on their way back home after visiting a relative in Dallas, Palacharla was going to Bentonville to meet his wife. Vasudevan, a Master's degree graduate from the University of Texas, was on her way to visit her uncle.
Previously, Vasudevan's father took to X and tagged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to seek help in locating his daughter. “@DrSJaishankar Dear Sir, My daughter Dharshini Vasudevan holding Indian passport No-T6215559 have been in USA for the last 3 years, 2 years of MS studies and later 1 year of Employment and stays 3150 Avenue of the stars Apt 1110-Frisco,Texas-75034,” he wrote.
He added, “Yesterday evening she took a car pooling along with 3 others around 3pm till 4pm she was actively messaging and reachable on phone after 4pm no further contacts could be established with her as well other 3 people who were travelling with her.”
Vasudevan, who was from Tamil Nadu, was living in Frisco, Texas.
Subhash Chandra Reddy, Orampati's father, reportedly owns a Hyderabad-based firm – Max Agri Genetics Private Limited. Orampati finished his engineering degree at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore. "His parents were in the US in May for his convocation at the University of Texas. After the convocation, they asked him to return to India, but he said he wanted to work in the US for two more years. Fate has struck like this," a relative said.
Shaik was from Hyderabad too, and lived in Bentonville. His father, Masthan Vali, said that he went to the US three years ago. "He went to the US to complete his MS degree. He finished it recently,” Vali said.
Vali is a retired private employee and lives with his family in BHEL Hyderabad. "My daughter also lives in US and is handling the situation,” he said.
A speeding truck is believed to have rear-ended the SUV the victims were in. The occupants burned to death after the vehicle burst into flames.
Authorities are reportedly dependent on DNA fingerprinting and teeth and bone remains to confirm the victims’ identities. "DNA fingerprinting will be done to identify the bodies, and the samples will be matched with the parents," a local authority said.
