Kakinada: Six members of an Indian family from Andhra Pradesh died in a road mishap in Johnson County in Texas, the United States on Tuesday evening. Of these, five persons belonged to Amalapuram in Dr B.R.Ambedkar Konaseema District and one to Visakhapatnam.
All six were relatives of Mummidivaram MLA Ponnada Venkata Satish. Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy phoned Satish and expressed his condolences.
Ponnada Nageswara Rao (brother of MLA Satish’s father) and his wife Seetha Mahalakshmi, his third daughter Pothabathula Naveen Ganga and his grandson Kritik (9) and Nishedha (9) and distant relative Barre Rushit (28-unmarried) died in the accident. His son-in-law Lokesh was seriously injured and admitted to a hospital there.
Nageswara Rao and Seetha Mahalakhmi had gone to the US a month ago. As part of the Christmas celebrations, the family planned a tour of Atlanta, Texas and Dallas. They visited a Zoo park in Texas. While returning from there, a van, driven by two minors, hit the car on Highway 67.
According to the Texas public safety department, the head-on collision happened at FM1234 and highway 67. Highway 67 was temporarily closed.
MLA Satish told Deccan Chronicle that his paternal uncle Nageswara Rao and his aunt Seethamahalakshmi went to the US to be with their third daughter Naveena and son-in-law Lokesh, a software engineer there. Nageswara Rao and Seetha Mahalakshmi were to return to India on Jan 17.
He said representatives of the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) informed him of the incident on Wednesday morning. “TANA is looking after the documentation of the deceased. The bodies would be flown to India after completion of the formalities.
The MLA said that the condition of Lokesh was very serious and doctors were keeping him under observation for 48 hours. “The CM’s office is in touch with the US officials,” he said.
The mishap shocked the family members of the deceased here. Grief gripped Amalapuram where the Nageswara Rao couple were residing. Many people met the MLA and his family members and expressed their condolences.
Nageswara Rao’s elder daughter and family resided in Rajamahendravaram and the second daughter’s family in Visakhapatnam.
