US: Four Indians nationals charred to death in horrific multi-vehicle crash in Texas

According to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, the accident involving five vehicles occurred on the northbound US 75 just past White Street at Anna near Dallas. Consul General of India in Houston D C Manjunath confirmed the identities and shared that the Consulate General of India (CGI) is in touch with the families and community organisations, providing full support during this tragic moment.

The victims were charred to death and were identified via DNA testing, according to multiple reports. They were identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Dharshini Vasudevan. As per reports, Orampati and his friend Shaik were returning after visiting his cousin in Dallas, while Lokesh Palacharla was on his way towards Bentonville to meet his wife. Dharshini Vasudevan, a student from the University of Texas, was on her way to visit her uncle.

“Darshini’s uncle Ramanujam lives in Bentonville, Arkansas. She was going to visit him. Darshini had just completed her Master’s and had started her job in Frisco, Dallas,” Manjunath said. “The other two, Umar Farooq Sheikh and Aryan Raghunath Orampatti, were recent graduates from the University of Texas at Dallas, with Sheikh completing his MS in Business Analytics in Spring 2023, and Orampatti pursuing his MS in Finance, set to graduate in Spring 2024. Lokesh, who was driving the vehicle, was also a working professional,” he added.

How the accident occurred?

All these four victims connected through a carpooling app, which helped in their identification after the deadly crash. Witnesses reported that traffic had slowed down on the highway, but a track cruising at high speed failed to decelerate, crashing into the SUV. The force of the collision was such that the SUV caught fire and the four occupants were trapped inside which resulted in their deaths. It took days to officially identify the victims as the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

A long weekend in the US has delayed the identification process, prolonging the suffering of the victims' families. Three days ago, Darshini Vasudevan's father had appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to help in locating his daughter. "@DrSJaishankar 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," said Vasudevan on X.

"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," he added.

According to reports, Aryan Raghunath Orampati's father Subhash Chandra Reddy owns a firm based in Hyderabad. He had completed his engineering degree in Coimbatore and was studying at the University of Texas. His friend Shaik was also from Hyderabad and lived in Bentonville. Dharshini was from Tamil Nadu and lived in Frisco, Texas.

(with agency input)