Two people from Hyderabad were among four Indians who died in a multi-vehicle road accident in the US, according to information received by their family members here.
The victims were identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampatti from Kukatpally here and his friend Farooq Sheikh, Lokesh Palacharla, another Telugu student, and Darshini Vasudev from Tamil Nadu.
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 on Friday afternoon.
A truck travelling at a high speed failed to slow down and struck the rear of 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.
Aryan Orampatti and Farooq Sheikh were returning after visiting a (Aryan’s) cousin in Dallas while Palacharla was heading to Bentonville to reunite with his wife. Darshini Vasudev, a postgraduate from the University of Texas, was on her way to visit her uncle in Arkansas.
A friend of Aryan’s father on Wednesday said here that four people including Aryan and his friend Farooq had joined in the vehicle using a carpooling app.
After getting to know about the accident from a relative staying in the US on Saturday, Aryan’s parents already left for the US, he told PTI.
Aryan after completing his engineering degree had left for the US to pursue MS and his parents had attended his convocation in May, he said adding Aryan wanted to work in the US for two years and then return to India.
Farooq’s father Mastan Vali, who stays in Hyderabad told PTI that he was informed on Saturday that an over speeding truck hit the vehicle in which his son and three other Indians including Aryan were travelling, from the rear side.
“Some friends of Farooq had informed my daughter, who lives in the US about the accident. She informed me about it on Saturday. My daughter is following up with authorities there,” Mastan Vali said, adding they were planning to bring Farooq’s mortal remains to Hyderabad.
Farooq had left for the US in August 2021 from here and after completing his MS there he was now working, his father said.