One day after Christmas, a family of six met their deaths in a car accident.
The Dallas Morning News and CBS News reported that among the deceased are siblings 9-year-old Nishidha Potabathula and 10-year-old Krithik Potabathula. The Honda Odyssey minivan of which the two siblings were passengers was hit head-on by a pickup truck driving on the wrong side of U.S. Highway 67.
28-year-old Rushil Barri, who was in the driver’s seat of the minivan, also died as a result of the crash, along with the children’s mother, Naveena Pothabathula, 36, and grandparents, Nageswararao Ponnada, 64, and Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada, 60. The father of the children, Lokesh Potabathula, 43 survived the attack, but after being critically injured was taken to the hospital for recovery.
Reports state that the family was returning from a trip to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center when the accident occurred. Barri. the one behind the wheel lived in Texas and was being visited by his family members from Georgia, and on the other hand, Nageswararao and Sitamahalakshmi had been visiting from India.
Barri’s roommate Ayyappala Bandaru told KXAS-TV, “At 4:01, she got a message saying Rushil’s iPhone has met with a crash. We were in shock like what just happened. We tried reaching everyone in the car, and no one is picking up.”
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook update that the truck “entered the northbound lane in a no-passing area and struck the Odyssey head-on, resulting in heavy damage to both vehicles.” According to The Dallas Morning News, the truck driver Luke Resecker, along with its passenger, Preston Glass, both 17, were in critical condition after the impact and were flown to the hospital.
A GoFundMe campaign description reads, “We are absolutely heartbroken by this unfortunate incident and having to ship the mortal remains back to India and plan a funeral service as well as taking care of Lokesh’s medical expenses, which are extremely overwhelming, and the burden of medical bills, funeral expenses weighs heavily on Lokesh’s family. We want to ease their financial strain during this difficult time.”
