Six family members dead after safari trip as 17-year-old drives wrong way on Texas highway

Six members of the same family were killed in a Texas incident after their minivan was totaled by a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old who was traveling on the wrong side of the road.

Rushil Barri, 28, was driving his family back to Irving in a Honda Odyssey after visiting the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center when the fatal accident occurred.

A Chevrolet pickup truck collided with their minivan as they approached the highway on their way home.

According to NBC News, the collision killed Barri and five of his six passengers.

The crash killed his cousin, his cousin’s wife, two young children, and in-laws, all of whom were from Alpharetta, Georgia.

Naveena Potabathula, 36, Nageswararao Ponnada, 64, Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada, 60, and youngsters Krithik Potabathula, 10, and Nishidha Potabathula, 9 were among the five passengers killed.

A 43-year-old male, the minivan’s seventh occupant, was critically injured.

The pickup truck’s 17-year-old driver and his 17-year-old passenger were both rushed to the hospital with critical injuries.

The injured individuals were evacuated to nearby John Peter Smith Hospital and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital for emergency treatment.

Ayyappala Bandaru, Barri’s roommate, has already expressed his sorrow at the incident, stating he was notified at 4:01 p.m.

Tuesday that Barri’s iPhone had registered the crash.“We were in shock like what just happened,” he said to NBC News. “We tried reaching everyone in the car and no one is picking up.”

Bandaru described Barri, who relocated to the United States from India in August 2020, as ambitious.

“We were like brothers,” stated Bandaru. “He’s like my brother over here.” He had high goals. He was always thinking about the future. ‘Man, we need to dominate this world,’ he used to say.”We came here with a lot of struggles,” he said.

Following the traumatic encounter, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. William Lockridge said it’s still unclear why the adolescent was driving the wrong way on the interstate.

“For an unknown reason at this time, the Chevrolet pickup truck traveled into the northbound lane and struck the Honda Odyssey head-on,” the officer added.