A suspected drunk driver has been arrested and charged in connection with a fatal crash in the United States that killed a Telugu NRI couple returning home after a visit to India, Maryland State Police said.
The victims were identified as Venkata Asha Khanna Appana (48) and Krishna Kishore Koti Kalapudi (49), residents of Marvin, North Carolina. The couple died after their vehicle was struck head-on on Interstate 95 in Maryland early Sunday morning.
In a news release issued on January 5 (US time), Maryland State Police said the accused, Michael Coupet, a 34-year-old man from Baltimore City, has been taken into custody and is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Centre.
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Crash occurred on wrong side of interstate
According to investigators, Coupet was driving a Toyota Sequoia in the wrong direction on southbound Interstate 95 near Maryland Route 216 when his vehicle collided with the couple’s Chrysler Pacifica at around 2:45 am.
Asha Appana, who was driving, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband, Krishna Kishore, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Their two children including a 21-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son, were also in the vehicle and survived the crash. Both sustained serious injuries and were taken to trauma centres, one by ambulance and the other by helicopter. They remain hospitalised and have undergone major surgeries, according to a GoFundMe page created for their support.
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Multiple charges filed
Police said Coupet has been charged with four counts of vehicular manslaughter, four counts of homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, multiple counts of life-threatening injury by motor vehicle, as well as driving under the influence and driving while impaired.
A GoFundMe fundraiser stated that the family had been returning from India after New Year celebrations, fulfilling Krishna Kishore’s wish for his parents to meet his children. The campaign raised more than $485,000, exceeding its revised target within days. The investigation is ongoing.
