4 Indians charred in multi-car crash in US, they were carpooling

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, September 4, 2024: Four Indians, including a woman, have died in a massive crash involving five vehicles in Texas. The victims had connected through a carpooling app and were on their way to Bentonville in Arkansas on Friday when the tragedy struck. The crash led to a fire in the SUV they were in, and their bodies were charred. Authorities are relying on DNA testing to confirm their identities.

The victims are Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Dharshini Vasudevan. Orampati and his friend Shaik were returning after visiting his cousin in Dallas. Lokesh Palacharla was traveling to Bentonville to meet his wife. Dharshini Vasudevan, who had finished her Master’s from the University of Texas and had been working in the US, was going to visit her uncle in Bentonville. They connected through a carpooling app and this helped authorities identify them.

Darshini Vasudevan’s father had tagged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a Twitter post three days back and sought help in locating his daughter.

"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.

"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," he said in the post.

Orampati’s father Subhash Chandra Reddy owns a Hyderabad-based firm named Max Agri Genetics Private Limited. Aryan completed 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," said a relative.

Orampati’s friend Shaik, too, was from Hyderabad and lived in Bentonville. Darshini, from Tamil Nadu, was living in Frisco, Texas.

Farooq Shaik’s father Masthan Vali said he went to the US three years back. "He went to the US to complete his MS degree. He finished it recently." Mr Vali is a retired private employee and the family lives in BHEL Hyderabad. "My daughter also lives in US and is handling the situation."

According to reports, a speeding truck rear-ended the SUV the victims were in. The car burst into flames and all the occupants burnt to death. The authorities are relying on DNA fingerprinting and teeth and bone remains to confirm the identities. "DNA fingerprinting will be done to identify the bodies, and the samples will be matched with the parents," a local authority said.

A long weekend in the US has delayed the identification process, prolonging the suffering of the victims’ families.