Four Indians charred to death in Texas chain crash, father of deceased woman seeks EAM Jaishankar's help

Three Telugus were among the four Indians who died in a multi-vehicle crash in Anna, Texas, on Friday.

The Collin County Sheriff’s Office said that the collision occurred just past White Street at around 3:30 pm on Friday.

The victims have been identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, his friend Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, from Hyderabad, and Darshini Vasudevan from Chennai. They all connected through a carpooling app and were on their way to Bentonville when the accident occurred.

Aryan Raghunath Orampati, who resided in Bentonville, along with his friend Farooq Shaik, was returning home after visiting his cousin in Dallas. Lokesh Palacharla was traveling to Bentonville to visit his wife. Meanwhile, Darshini Vasudevan, who lived in Frisco, was on her way to visit her uncle.

Aryan's family, originally hailing from Rayachoti in Kadapa, lives in Hyderabad. Aryan, who had studied B Tech at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeethamnin, had recently graduated from the University of Texas, Dallas, with a masters degree. His parents were in the United States in May 2024 for his university convocation.

One of Aryan's relatives said that after the convocation, his parents wanted him to return to India. But it was learnt that Aryan had told his parents that he wanted to work in the United States for two years before returning. Aryan’s father, Subhash Chandra Reddy, owns Max Agri Genetic Private Limited in Kukatpally, Hyderabad.

Farooq, who also lived in Bentonville, was from Hyderabad's BHEL area. Masthan Vali, father of Farooq Shaik, said that for the past three years Farooq was in the United States for his MS studies, which he completed recently. He did his engineering at Vasavi College in Hyderabad. Vali, a retired private employee who originally belongs to Guntur is settled in Hyderabad's BHEL area at present. Vali said his daughter, who also lives in the US, is monitoring the situation.

While there are no details available about Lokesh, it is known that he had been working as a solutions architect with Bank of America for the past two and a half years. He held a Master's degree in Informatics from Northeastern University with a majors in Analytics. He had also completed his B Tech from JNTU Hyderabad. He had been living in the US for the last eight years.

According to reports, the collision was triggered when a truck, reportedly travelling at high speed, failed to slow down and rear-ended the SUV that the victims were travelling in. Witnesses reported that traffic had slowed significantly on the highway, causing vehicles to come to a standstill. The impact was so severe that the SUV burst into flames, leaving all four occupants trapped inside and unable to escape.

Due to the intensity of the fire, the bodies were charred beyond recognition, making identification challenging. Authorities are relying on DNA fingerprinting, using teeth and bone remnants, to confirm the identities of the victims.

Darshini Vasudevan’s parents, who had been in regular contact with her until shortly before the crash, are now appealing for assistance from India’s Union External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar.

“Dear Sir, My daughter Dharshini Vasudevan, holding an Indian passport, has been in the USA for the last 3 years: 2 years of MS studies and later 1 year of employment, and she stays at 3150 Avenue of the Stars, Apt. 1110-Frisco, Texas-75034. Yesterday evening she took a car pooling along with 3 others around 3pm till 4pm. She was actively messaging and reachable on the phone. After 4pm, no further contacts could be established with her or the other 3 people who were travelling with her. The travel was from Frisco to Bentonville (her uncle's home) since it’s a long weekend and she prebooked for the travel. We parents are really worried, and it’s almost 12 hours we don't know the status of our daughter. Please help,” said Vasudevan in a post on X.