Multi-vehicle crash in US kills four Indians carpooling together

Four Indians traveling in an SUV, who connected through a carpooling app, died in a massive crash involving five vehicles in Texas.

The victims were on their way to Bentonville in Arkansas on Aug 30 when the crash occurred around 3:30 pm local time.

All the four victims burned to death as the SUV caught fire by the impact of the crash. Authorities have resorted to DNA testing to confirm their identities.

The victims include Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Dharshini Vasudevan.
Preliminary investigation indicates that a speeding truck rear-ended the SUV, causing it to burst into flames.

The authorities conducted 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," an official said.

According to media reports, Orampati and his friend Shaik were returning after visiting his cousin in Dallas.
Lokesh was traveling to Bentonville to meet his wife and Dharshini, a working professional in the US, was going to visit her uncle in Bentonville.

As they connected through a carpooling app, it was easier for authorities to identify them.

Dharshini had finished her Master's from the University of Texas. Her father 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 has been in the USA for the last 3 years, 2 years of MS studies and later 1 year of Employment and stays at 3150 Avenue of the Stars Apt 1110-Frisco, Texas-75034.

"Yesterday evening she took a carpooling along with 3 others from around 3 pm till 4 pm she was actively messaging and reachable on the phone after 4 pm no further contacts could be established with her as well as other 3 people who were travelling with her," he said in the post.

Orampati 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," Orampati's relative was quoted as saying.

His father Subhash Chandra Reddy owns a Hyderabad-based firm named Max Agri Genetics Private Limited.
Orampati's friend Shaik, too, was from Hyderabad and lived in Bentonville. Darshini hailed from Tamil Nadu and was living in Frisco, Texas.

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 the US and is handling the situation," he was quoted as saying.