Nikita Nakal had moved to the US in July to study MBA at the UCO.
By Sreejith Vallikunnu
Nikita Prabhakar Nakal, a student from Mumbai, was among the four killed when a car crashed into a crowd watching the homecoming parade at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater on Saturday.
Nikita (23) was a graduate student at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO).
Nasha Lucas, a two-year-old boy, Marvin Lyle Stone (65), retired Oklahoma state professor, and his wife Bonnie Jean Stone (65) also died in the fatal car crash. Stones and Lucas were residents of Stillwater.
According to the police, 47 others, including several children were injured, out of which four are in critical condition.
UCO President Don Betz said in a statement, “While our thoughts and prayers are with the Oklahoma State University community tonight following the tragic events during OSU’s homecoming parade this morning, it is with deep sadness that I ask you to extend those sentiments to the family and friends of one of our own students.”
“Nikita Nakal of Mumbai, India, an MBA student at UCO, was among those who died. Our students come to Central with their unique goals, hopes and dreams, and Nikita was undoubtedly no different. While we mourn the potential unrealized, let us also honour her life by pulling closer and appreciating the strength of our Broncho family,” he added.
Stillwater police department said, “A car driven by Stillwater resident Adacia Avery Chambers (25) drove into a crowd of spectators striking numerous people as well as an unmanned police motorcycle. The incident has occurred on Saturday at 10.31A.M at the intersection of Hall of Fame Ave. and Main St. That intersection was the termination point of the parade, and lined with spectators when the collision occurred.”
The driver, Adacia Chambers, was taken into custody after the crash and is being held at the Stillwater jail on suspicion of driving under the influence and four other counts of second-degree murder, the police said.
The attorney representing chambers said Sunday he believed mental illness, not intoxication, caused the crash. “She doesn’t remember a whole lot about what happened,” attorney Tony Coleman told reporters. “There was a period where I think … she could have even blacked out.”
“I have deep concerns about her competency at this point. I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I can tell you she’s suffering from mental illness,” he added.
According to Nikita Nakal’s Facebook account, she moved to the United States in late July to pursue a graduate degree at the UCO. “New home it is!! missing amchi Mumbai already,” she wrote in a post on July 22 from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, on her way to Oklahoma City.
Nakal was doing her master’s in business administration in the UCO after completing her bachelor degree in commerce from Mumbai University. She had earlier worked as a customer service executive at Tech Mahindra business solutions and as a transaction processing specialist at JP Morgan Chase.
The investigation into the cause of the collision is going on. Additional charges will be presented to the Payne County District Attorney’s office, the police have said. Witnesses of the accident are asked to contact the police at 405.372.4171.