Hyderabad: A tragic multi-vehicle accident on August 30, 2024, in Anna, Texas, resulted in the deaths of four Indian nationals, including two individuals from Hyderabad.
The victims were identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Darshini Vasudevan.
The four victims were travelling to Bentonville, Arkansas, when their journey ended in tragedy due to a carpooling arrangement made through an app. Aryan Raghunath Orampati, who lived in Bentonville, was returning home after visiting a cousin in Dallas.
Lokesh Palacharla was on his way to Bentonville to see his wife, while Darshini Vasudevan, a recent Master’s degree graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington, was en route to visit her uncle in Bentonville. The carpooling app they used played a crucial role in helping authorities identify the victims following the accident.
The accident occurred around 3:30 PM as the victims were en route to Bentonville, Arkansas, after connecting through a carpooling app.
The impact of the collision was so severe that it caused the SUV to burst into flames, making identification of the victims extremely difficult.
Authorities are now relying on DNA fingerprinting and dental records to confirm their identities, a process complicated by the long holiday weekend in the United States.
Aryan Orampati, originally from Kukatpally, Hyderabad, had recently completed his engineering degree and was planning to work in the United States for an additional two years before returning to India.
His father, Subhash Chandra Reddy, is a business owner in Hyderabad. Farooq Shaik, who also hailed from Hyderabad, had moved to the US three years ago for his Master’s degree and was living in Bentonville.
Farooq Shaik was another victim from Hyderabad and a friend of Aryan also lived in Bentonville. He went to the US three years ago to complete his Master’s degree.
The families of the victims are currently seeking assistance from Indian authorities, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, to expedite the identification process and facilitate the return of their loved ones’ remains to India
