Bodies of Indian family killed in US car crash likely to be flown to India on Dec 31

Houston: Friends and community members have planned a vigil on Saturday in remembrance of an Indian family killed in a horrific car crash in the US state of Texas and their bodies are likely to be flown to India on Sunday, according to local media reports.

Services honouring the lives of the six deceased have been planned for the weekend with a vigil both at Houston and Metro Atlanta for people to pay their respects.

A deadly crash on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas on December 26 claimed the lives of six Indians, including two children, while a survivor is battling critical injuries in a hospital there. The family originally belonged to Amalapuram town in Andhra Pradesh.

While 43-year-old Lokesh Potabathula survived the crash, his brother, 28-year-old Rushil Barri, a resident of Alpharetta, Georgia; Potabathula's wife, 36-year-old Naveena Potabathula; the couple’s children, 9-year-old Nishidha Potabathula and 10-year-old Krithik Potabathula; and Naveena’s parents, 60-year-old Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada and 64-year-old Nageswararao Ponnada, perished in the fatal accident.

“Bodies of the Indian family members killed in a crash in Texas would be flown to India on Sunday,” Atlanta News First channel reported on Friday.

The channel spoke with Sunil Savili, founder of the Indian Friends of Atlanta and, also, a part of the Telugu Association of North America (TANA), who is helping out the Indian family in their time of grief.

“Definitely … one needs to be hand in hand and support everyone. We are there for the family, we are there for the people in need,” Savili told Atlanta News First.

Another local channel, 11Alive quoted Ashok Kolla of TANA, saying they have been coordinating with funeral homes, airlines and multiple consulates to ensure that the bodies of the crash victims are returned to their home in India.

11Alive.com also reported that Lokesh, who remained critical, “underwent several surgeries. He currently has a broken arm and ankles, as well as injuries to his neck and spine, which may result in him not walking again. On top of all that, he may have also lost his sight.”

The accident took place on Tuesday evening near Cleburne, about 53 km south of Fort Worth, according to the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.

A preliminary investigation showed that a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old entered the northbound lanes in a no-passing zone and crashed head-on into a minivan, in which the Indians were travelling, the sheriff's office said.