indica News Bureau-
A middle-aged Indian-American is facing multiple murder charges after he rammed his vehicles in a car carrying six teenagers. Three of them died while the other three were severely injured after the crash. The man, later identified as Anurag Chandra was arrested on January 20, shortly after the crash.
According to reports by the US media, the man intentionally crashed his vehicle in the car and fled the spot. The car with the six teens crashed into a tree in Temescal Valley, southeast of Los Angeles. The police officials also found Chandra’s vehicle with front-end damage at the same spot. Chandra, 42, lives in California’s Corona city.
“It was an intentional act,” California Highway Patrol Lt David Yokley told reporters on January 21.
“Our investigation led us to believe Chandra intentionally rammed the Prius, causing the driver to lose control. The investigation has now changed from a hit-run collision to homicide,” Yokley was quoted as saying by the New York Post.
Chandra, 42, faces multiple counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, Riverside County jail records show. He is being held without bail.
According to the police, one of the teens died on spot while two were taken to a hospital, where they died later.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the teens were wearing seat belts, NBC News reported.
The Riverside County Fire Department posted a statement on Facebook saying that a single car with six occupants hit a tree and that three of the car’s occupants had to be extricated.
The injured teens are expected to survive. All six had attended Olive Branch Church & School in Corona.
“They were bright young kids that had so much to look forward to and it was taken far too early,” said the institute’s spokesman Tim East.
Yokley did not disclose a motive for the crash.
“We really don’t know,” the officer said.
“Obviously, there was some sort of contact. We are looking into those exact same questions, of whether or not he was known to the victims” Yokley said.
Alcohol or drugs did not appear to be a factor in the crash, but toxicology tests are still pending.
