JOHNSON COUNTY, TX – A devastating car crash in Texas took the lives of six family members. During the deadly collision, their minivan was hit head-on by a pickup truck that was being driven by a teenager. When the accident occurred, the family was returning home to Irving from a trip to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.
The 28-year-old driver of the minivan, Rushil Barri, along with five of his six passengers, were killed on impact. The victims included his cousins, who left behind two young children, and his in-laws- all from Alpharetta, Georgia. The deceased were identified as Naveena Potabathula, 36, Nageswararao Ponnada, 64, Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada, 60, and children Krithik Potabathula, 10, and Nishidha Potabathula, 9.
The seventh passenger of the minivan, a 43-year-old man, suffered critical injuries. Alongside the 17-year-old male driver of the pickup truck, they were airlifted to nearby hospitals for urgent care. The pickup also carried another minor in the passenger’s seat.
Barri moved from India to the US in August 2020 in pursuit of bigger dreams, said his roommate, Ayyappala Bandaru, who learned of the fatal accident through the crash detection system on Barri’s iPhone.
Authorities are still investigating why the pickup’s teenage driver was on the wrong side of the highway at the time of the grim accident.