Texas vehicle crash: Two students from Hyderabad among 4 Indians killed

Texas: Four Indians including two from Hyderabad died in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on the northbound US, 75 just past White Street in Texas.

According to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, on August 30, at around 3:30 pm, one vehicle caught fire in the accident involving approximately five vehicles. The four people killed were all in the same car. Along with four fatalities, at least three other people were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.

The impact was so severe that the SUV burst into flames, leaving all four trapped inside.

Authorities had to do DNA fingerprinting using bone remnants, to confirm the identities of the victims. A long weekend in the US has delayed the identification process.

The deceased have been identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati from Kukatpally, his friend Farooq Shaik from BHEL Hyderabad, Darshini Vasudevan from Tamil Nadu, and Lokesh Palacharla, another Telugu student.

Aryan and his friend Shaik were returning after visiting his cousin in Dallas. Lokesh was traveling to Bentonville to meet his wife, and Darshini Vasudevan, a Master's degree graduate from the University of Texas, was going to visit her uncle in Bentonville. All four people had tied up their travel plans using a carpooling app.

Aryan from Hyderabad completed his engineering degree at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeethamnin Coimbatore and went to the US and completed his higher education at the University of Texas Dallas this year. His parents visited for his Convocation. He planned to stay in the US for two more years, work, and then return to India.

His friend Farooq went to the US three years back for a Master's Degree.

In post on X Darshini's father Vasudevan wrote to the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, to help finding the status of her daughter.

"Yesterday evening she took a car pooling along with 3 others around 3 pm. Till 4 pm she was actively messaging and reachable on phone, after 4 pm no further contacts could be established with her as well other 3 people who were travelling with her. The travel was from Frisco to Bentonville (her uncle's home) since it’s a long weekend she pre booked for the travel. We parents are really worried and it’s almost 12 hours we don’t the status of our daughter. Please help," Vasudevan wrote three days ago.

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 (@VasuV1970) August 31, 2024

Darshini was in the USA for the last 3 years, 2 years of MS studies, and 1 year of job.