2 children among 6 fatalities in ‘devastating’ Johnson County crash near Cleburne: officials
Six people, including two children, were killed and three others injured Tuesday night in a “devastating” two-vehicle crash in Johnson County, authorities said.
Cleburne Assistant Fire Chief Keith Scarbrough told the Star-Telegram that a minivan with Georgia license plates and a pickup were involved in the crash. Six out of the seven minivan passengers died, according to Scarbrough.
Ashok Kolla, a spokesperson for the Telugu Association of North America, said those killed in the crash were all family members. Nageswararao Ponnada, 64, and his wife Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada, 60, of India were visiting their daughter Naveena Potabathula, 36, grandson Krithik, 10, and granddaughter Nishidha, 9, in Georgia.
They were on the way back from visiting Texas when the accident occurred. A Chevrolet Silverado traveling south on U.S. 67 entered the northbound lane in a no passing zone and hit the family’s Honda Odyssey head on, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Wednesday morning in a press release. The crash happened around 4 p.m.
The minivan’s driver, Rushil Barri of Irving, also died in the crash and was a distant relative of the family, Kolla said.
Naveena’s husband, 43-year-old Lokesh Potabathula of Alpharetta, Georgia, was a passenger in the minivan and the only survivor, officials said.
Ponnada Venkata Satish Kumar, a politician in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is a nephew of Nageswararao Ponnada, Kolla said.
The Telugu Association of North America is working with authorities to send all the bodies to India. Kolla said they are just waiting on authorities to formally identify and release the bodies.
The two occupants of the Silverado, both 17-year-old males, and Lokesh Potabathula were airlifted to Fort Worth hospitals with critical injuries, according to the release.
Four of the six who died were not wearing seatbelts, authorities said.
The other minivan passengers were from Alpharetta, Georgia. The Georgia State Police is working with the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate the next of kin, the release said.
The highway was closed for several hours Tuesday night between County Roads 1234 and 1120 due to the deadly crash, according to William Lockridge, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson.
The investigation is ongoing, and no further information is available right now, Lockridge said.
The crash site is roughly 10 miles southwest of Cleburne.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office posted about the crash on social media and asked drivers to avoid the area while officers worked to clear the accident..
“Please say a prayer for the families of the deceased and injured. Also, please pray for our Deputies, Troopers and all other first responders working this accident. It’s a devastating scene and very emotional for all involved,” the post said.
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