Arvind Mani, Pradeepa Arvind Death – Officials have identified all five people killed in a fiery wreck in Central Texas last week that caused a Leander teenager to lose his entire family, a Department of Public Safety trooper said Friday.
The people killed included Arvind Mani, 45, his 40-year-old wife, Pradeepa Arvind, and their 17-year-old daughter Andril Arvind, who all were from Leander, according to a DPS report.
Click here for Arvind’s family GoFundMe
Their only surviving immediate family member, Adiryan, 14, was not in the vehicle with them. A GoFundMe page for the 14-year-old boy has raised more than $800,000.
The other people killed in the wreck at 5:45 a.m. on Wednesday on U.S. 281 in Lampasas County were Jacinto Gudino Duran, 31, and 23-year-old Yosilu Gasman Martinez, both of Copperas Cove, the report said.
Duran was driving south on U.S. 281 in a 2004 Cadillac CTS with Martinez as a passenger when his right rear tire blew out and he lost control of the car, according to the report. It said the Cadillac skidded sideways into the northbound lanes of U.S. 281, hitting the 2024 Kia Telluride that Mani was driving north with his wife and daughter.
Officials have not yet determined where Duran was going to when the crash happened, Washko said. He said Duran and Martinez lived together. The Kia hit the passenger side of the Cadillac, tearing it in half, said DPS Trooper Bryan Washko. The Telluride caught fire, he said, and everyone died at the scene.
“There was no chance of survival,” the trooper said. He said the collision happened about 6 miles north of Lampasas.
Duran could have been driving at 100 mph based on a witness driving 80 mph who said the Cadillac had passed her earlier, Washko said. The Kia was traveling at about 65 to 70 mph, Washko said. Adding both speeds of the vehicles together meant the crash was “like driving into a concrete wall at 170 mph,” he said.
“It is one of the worst crashes I have seen in 26 years because of the magnitude of the damage and amount of people lost,” Washko said.
Investigators later determined that the Cadillac had old tires that needed to be replaced, he said. Officials have not yet discovered whether alcohol was a factor in the collision, he said.
Mani and his wife were driving their daughter to college in North Texas and had left their son behind because he started school that day, Washko said. Andril Arvand, 17, graduated from Rouse High School and was going to attend the University of Dallas, where she planned to study computer science, according to the GoFundMe set up for her brother.
“The Rouse High School family is deeply saddened to share the loss of one of our very own Raiders from the Class of 2024, Andril Arvind,” said a letter sent to parents from the school’s principal. “Andril and her parents were involved in an automobile accident this morning, and we are sad to share there were no survivors. This news has brought great sorrow to our campus and has impacted many in our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Andril’s family and friends.”
Her parents were “an integral part of our Austin Indian community,” according to the GoFundMe site. It said Adiryan Arvand is now living with his uncle’s family.