Tragedy struck a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) family from Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, during their Christmas holiday in Texas. The family of six, related to a lawmaker from the ruling YSR Congress Party, lost their lives in a fatal traffic accident on December 26.
The victims, including MLA Ponnada Venkata Satish Kumar’s uncle P Nageswara Rao, were returning from a relative’s house in a minivan after spending Christmas. Their day had started with a visit to the zoo, but the joyous occasion turned into a nightmare around 4 pm.
The collision occurred when a truck, driven by two youths going in the wrong direction, struck the family’s minivan in Johnson County. The impact proved fatal, claiming the lives of P Nageswara Rao, Seetha Mahalakshmi, Naveena, Kruthik, and a young girl named Nishitha. The sixth victim, another family member, remains unnamed.
The truck occupants responsible for the accident are currently hospitalized, having sustained injuries themselves. The lone survivor, identified as Lokesh, is in critical condition and undergoing treatment at a Forth Worth hospital after being airlifted from the scene.
MLA Ponnada Venkata Satish Kumar is actively involved in coordinating with the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) and US authorities to repatriate the bodies. The process is complicated by the fact that two of the deceased were born US citizens, requiring consent from Lokesh, the surviving family member currently undergoing treatment.
“We are working on bringing back the bodies to Andhra. Two of them were born citizens of the US for which consent from Lokesh, who is currently undergoing treatment, is needed. Therefore, we are weighing our options. TANA representatives Ashok and Srikanth are helping us,” stated Kumar. The tragic incident serves as a somber reminder of the devastating consequences of road accidents and the need for heightened safety measures on the highways.
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