A holiday road trip turned tragic for a Hyderabad-origin family of four who were killed in a fatal car crash in Greene County, Alabama, on July 6. The family, originally from Kompally in Hyderabad, was residing in Sutton Fields, near Dallas, Texas.
The deceased have been identified as Sri Venkat Bejugam, 40, his wife Tejaswini Cholleti, 36, and their children Siddharth 9, and Mrida 7.
The family was returning from a week-long visit during the Fourth of July weekend to Atlanta, where they had been staying with Venkat’s sister Deepika and her husband. Just four hours into their journey back home to Dallas, their car was struck head-on by a truck allegedly being driven on the wrong side of the road, leading to a massive fire. All four occupants of the car were trapped inside the vehicle and perished, their bodies burnt beyond recognition.
Tejaswini’s uncle, Venugopal Choletti, said that the family was just minutes away from the hotel they had planned to stay at overnight. “They frequently travelled on this route and broke the 12-hour journey with a midway stop, but their regular hotel was fully booked this time. They found another nearby. It’s heartbreaking..... they were just ten minutes away,” he said. He added that he had spoken to the couple and the children only three days earlier.
