Hit by a drunk driver driving the wrong way.
AB Wire
Funerals for four Indians from Gujarat, all co-workers at a factory in Scott Township in Pennsylvania, who were killed in a deadly car crash on Interstate 81 last month, was held on Saturday.
About 500 mourners gathered at Chipak Funeral Home which held services for Vinodchandra M. Patel, 68, Komal Vyas, 30, Bhaveshkumar Patel, 42, and his wife, Shilpaben Bhavesh Patel, 29. All were newer residents of Scranton and co-workers at a factory, Process Technologies and Packaging, reported the Times-Tribune.
The four Indians were killed when their car was hit by a vehicle traveling the wrong way on Interstate 81.
Those four and another passenger, Silpaben Bharat Patel, 45, the only one in the Honda to survive, were carpooling home from work Jan. 23 about 1 a.m., when their vehicle was struck head-on by a 2016 Lincoln MKZ driven at high speed north on I-81 south by Gennadiy Manannikov, 28, Lake Twp., authorities said. The collision occurred in South Abington Twp.
Manannikov’s passenger, Ashley Wheeler, 32, of Scranton, also died at the scene. Her funeral was held last week, the report said.
Except for the married couple, the co-workers were not related. Some family members arrived from India for the funeral services, and others came from their homes elsewhere in the United States.
Shashikant Kalariya of Waverly, a native of India who has been in this area for 43 years knew Vyas and Bhaveshkumar Patel. He said the Indian community in the region is reeling from the tragedy, the Times-Tribune reported.
“So sad,” Kalariya said. “And the way it happened. Those people were here (in America), five years, 10 years, to get a better life.”
Two mourners displayed framed portraits of the married couple, Bhaveshkumar Patel, who was driving the Honda, and Shilpaben Patel. Their survivors include an infant daughter, Diya, and a young son, Henil.
Kuldeep Dhaliwal of Dupont did not know any of the victims but attended the funerals out of respect for those killed and to support their survivors.
“Those little babies (will) never know mom and dad,” Dhaliwal said.
Bhaveshkumar Patel’s brother and sister-in-law have been caring for the children and will continue to do so, the sister-in-law said Friday.
While three of the victims died at the crash scene, Bhaveshkumar Patel died from his injuries Friday at Geisinger Community Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since the crash. His autopsy may be performed Monday, Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland said.
Silpaben Bharat Patel remained hospitalized at GCMC, where her condition was upgraded from fair Friday to good Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Noelle Snyder said.
Manannikov admitted at the crash scene that he had been drinking that night, police have said. He drove his vehicle about 8 miles in the wrong direction before crashing into the Honda, investigators believe.
On Monday, state police charged Manannikov with three counts of vehicular homicide. More charges may be filed pending results of autopsies and the investigation, authorities have said