NEW YORK: A fatal highway in Missouri claimed the lives of four Telugu students and critically injured a fifth student who was driving at the time of the accident.
According to police and newspaper reports, the four Rolla residents were killed on the spot of the accident. Sriharsha Chittury (Visakhapatnam) 22, Dheeraj Gudlawar (Hyderabad) 23, Srikanth Ravi (Hyderabad) 21, and Srupun Velumula (Karimnagar) 24, were passengers in a vehicle driven by Murali Bottu, 22, who was seriously injured and was air-lifted from the spot to University Hospital.
The Highway Patrol said Bottu was traveling westbound on Hwy 42 at Hawkins Cemetery Road around 10:45 a.m. Sunday when he lost control of the vehicle. He crossed the center line and overcorrected, causing the vehicle to become sideways in the roadway. That’s when a Chevrolet Silverado, driven by one Darren J. Denter, 38, of Glencove, collided with the victims’ Toyota Camry on the passenger side.
Upon being informed by the family members of the victims, the emergency aid wing of Telugu Association of North America (TANA) – TANA TeamSquare – reacted immediately to provide emergency assistance and logistical support.
Many of the TANA members and volunteers went to the location and hospital to provide help and guidance. The president of the St Loius Telugu Association Rajanikanth Gangavarapu, STA members Chandra Gummi and Ram Mohan Paduru also traveled to Camdenton and Columbia, MO to assist the family member and friends of the victims.
TANA Secretary Mohan Nannapaneni, has been coordinating with the university, funeral homes, volunteers, family members and making arrangements to send the deceased to India. The expenses for medical services and transferring the bodies to India are being covered via student’s Insurance and with assistance from their University.
India Post News Service
