4 Indians Burnt Alive In Massive US Car Crash Caused By Speeding Truck. Had Connected For Carpooling

The authorities depended on fingerprinting, teeth and bone remains to confirm the identities. It took days to officially identify the victims as the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

All four victims were stuck inside and burnt to death.

Source : X/@HYDNetizensNews

Four Indians, including a woman, were killed in a massive car crash involving five vehicles in Anna, Texas, in the United States, on Friday afternoon. The accident occurred around 3.30 pm just past White Street, PTI reported. The four Indians were travelling to Bentonville in the neighbouring state of Arkansas, and had used a carpool app for transportation, which helped identify them. 

According to the PTI report, the accident occurred when a speeding truck rear-ended the SUV the victims were in. The impact was so severe that the car caught fire, PTI reported. All four victims found themselves stuck inside the vehicle and burnt to death. The authorities depended on fingerprinting, and teeth and bone remains to confirm the identities. It took days to officially identify the victims as the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

The deceased have been identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati and Farooq Shaik, who resided in Bentonville and were returning home after visiting the former's cousin in Dallas. The third victim, Lokesh Palacharla, was on his way to visit his wife. Darshini Vasudevan, the fourth passenger, was on her way to visit her uncle. 

The Consul General of India in Houston, D.C. Manjunath, confirmed the identities of the four, and said the Consulate General of India (CGI) was in touch with the families and community organisations, PTI reported.

Darshini Vasudev was from Tamil Nadu. Before the news of her death was confirmed, her father had tagged External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in a post on X, seeking help in tracing her, saying the family had abruptly lost touch with her. He said she had been in the US for three years, and had spent the previous year working.

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

About The Victims

Darshini Vasudevan, who lived in Frisco, Texas, held an MS from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Orampati's father Subhash Chandra Reddy owns Max Agri Genetics Private Limited in Kutapally, Hyderabad. The family is originally from Rayachoti in Andhra Pradesh, but settled in Nizampet. He completed his engineering degree at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore, according to TOI. Orampati had recently completed his Master of Science in Finance, as per PTI.

Farooq Shaik, too, was from Hyderabad. His father said he went to the US three years ago, and recently completed his course for a Master of Science degree in Business Analytics. His family lives in BHEL Hyderabad, NDTV reported. 

Lokesh, who was driving the vehicle, was also a working professional.