Four Indians died in a crash between their car and semi-truck on the Interstate 17 near Flagstaff town of Arizona state, in the United States, on Sunday, September 18.
The car erupted into flames after the crash, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
As per media reports, the impairment did not play a role in the crash, however, the intensity of the fire made it difficult for the Department of Public Safety to identify the dead.
Venkat Kommineni, an Indian American community leader shared with a local news agency Indica that a couple and their two young sons had died in the crash.
According to Kommineni, the four fatalities include: Vijayalakshmi Gopal and Nagarajan (the parents), Athish Nagarajan and Dhinesh Nagarajan (the sons).
"The parents are from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and were visiting their sons in the US."Venkat Kommineni, Member of Indian Association of Phoenix and Arizona Telugu Association.
Along with the Indian Association of Phoenix and the Arizona Telugu Association, Kommineni said they are trying to identify family members from India who might be able to travel to the US in order to claim the dead.
Vijaya Nirmala Gopal, a woman who claims to be the deceased Vijayalakshmi's younger sister, took to Twitter seeking help from Dr. S Jaishankar, India's minister of external affairs to help with getting a visa to visit Arizona to claim the deceased family.
As per a report by NBC's Flagstaff affiliate, the semi-truck was filled with glass and failed to stop at a stop sign near the I-17 exit. It collided with a "passenger car" which was north bound on SR179. As a result, both vehicles were pushed off the road and rolled down an embankment. The semi-trailer landed on top of the car and officials reported that both vehicles were "engulfed in flames".
Officials said that the driver of the semi-truck was able to escape from his vehicle unscathed, however, the four people in the passenger car were "pronounced dead on the scene."
Athish Nagarajan, the elder of the two sons was a Global Supply Manager at Lucid Motors in Arizona while his younger brother Dhinesh was a regional sales manager at ARCX, Inc, according to Kommineni.
While they wait for family members to travel to the US, the bodies of the deceased are kept at Yavapai County, Arizona.
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