Ramesh Pulavarthi, of Fremont, was the fourth Telugu American to die in tragic incidents this past week.
An Indian American man was killed when he was hit by a vehicle as he was standing on the driver side his parked car at a scenic place on Route 50, some 87 miles to the east of Sacramento.
Ramesh Pulavarthi of Fremont, California, was traveling with his family to Lake Tahoe with his wife, kids and father-in-law on February 17. On the way, they stopped at a view point near Bridal Veil Falls on US Route 50 an hour away from Lake Tahoe to capture a few scenes on his camera. After the family got back in the car, he was walking from the boot of the car toward driver’s side.
The passing motorist on a 2010 Jeep swerved in the direction where Pulavarthi was standing outside of his vehicle. The impact was so strong that it propelled Pulavarthi several feet from his vehicle.
Pulavarthi succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on the spot.
Other members of his family who were inside the car were unharmed.
Parmesh Bheemreddy, Chairman of the American Telugu Association, which is in touch with the Pulavarthi family, told the American Bazaar that the family had gone on a long drive over the long weekend.
The California Highway Patrol in Placerville, which is investigating the incident, posted on its Facebook page an update. The post read:
On 2/17/19 at approximately 1350 hours, Party #1 (Wonkyo Lee, 59 of Sacramento, CA) was driving a 2010 Jeep east on US-50 in the #2 lane approaching Bridal Veil Falls. Party #3 (Christian Costanza, 48 of Brookline, MA) was driving a 2019 Mazda east on US-50 in the #1 lane approaching Bridal Veil Falls. Party #2 (Ramesh Pulavarthi, 40 of Fremont, CA) had parked his vehicle in the #2 lane just east of Bridal Veil Falls and was standing on the driver side.
As Mr. Lee approached Bridal Veil Falls, he encountered Mr. Pulavarthi’s parked vehicle in the #2 lane. Mr. Lee swerved to the left and struck Mr. Pulavarthi. Mr. Pulavarthi was thrown several feet and unfortunately sustained fatal injuries. Mr. Lee’s vehicle then struck the vehicle being driven by Mr. Costanza.
All involved parties remained at the scene and are cooperating with the investigation. Drugs/alcohol are not suspected to be a factor. The collision is still under investigation.
Pulavarthi is survived by his wife Sylaja and two young kids. A “GoFundMe†page has been set up to help the family which says: “Ramesh is survived by his wife and 2 kids. Sudden demise of Ramesh left us in deep loss and more importantly a big support to his family. Though we might not be able to fulfill Ramesh’s hopes and dreams for Rudra (8 Year old Son) and Meenakshi (5 Year old Daughter), if we can have small contributions which would like stepping stones for the family future.