₹6.8 crore raised for Indian-origin teen who lost parents in US car crash; charity fundraiser goes beyond expectation

A US man collected funds three times more than his request of ₹2 crore ($250,000) for Indian origin Adiryan Aravind's future, a 14-year-old lone survivor, who lost his family in a car crash in Texas, on August 14. The US man, identified as Rajaraman Venkatachalam, collected ₹6.8 crore ($813,747) through crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe.

Arvind Mani, 45, his wife Pradeepa Arvind, 40, and their 17-year-old daughter Andril Arvind, all residents of Leander city in Texas, died around 5.45 am on August 14, near Lampass County. The family members were driving to Andril's college, when the accident happened.

Pradeepa and Arvind Mani's 14-year-old son Adiryan, who was not in the vehicle with them, became the only surviving member of the family. A GoFundMe page set up by the deceased's friend, to financially aid the grieving boy has raised over $800,000.

“Arvind (45) and Pradeepa (42) were a wonderful couple blessed with two children, Andril (17) and Adiryan (14), reads the GoFundMe page titled "Support for Adiryan Arvind: A Tragic Loss and a Young Life to Rebuild".

'Worst crash in 26 years'

According to several local media reports, the victims did not have any chance of survival, said the police."There was no chance of survival. It is one of the worst crashes I have seen in 26 years because of the magnitude of the damage and number of people lost," police told local media.

The police suspect that the car that hit the family was at a probable speed of 160 kpmh, as a witness had seen the car zoom by. While the family's car was driving around 112 kmph, the other car was “like driving into a concrete wall at 270 kmph,” said police, stated reports.

"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.