Luke Garrett Resecker Texas teen smoking marijuana vape charged with killing 6 out of 7 family members in wrong way crash. Surviving family member id as Lokesh Potabuthala, who hailed from Alpharetta, Georgia.
A Texas teenager has been charged with driving under the influence when he collided with a vehicle in a wrong way crash in December, killing a Georgia family-of-six the day after Christmas.
Luke Garrett Resecker, 18, upon being formally charged earlier this week was seen grinning in his mugshot picture, with the teen driver arraigned on six counts, including intoxication manslaughter.
Investigators in their case against the teen say Resecker was under the influence of THC – the active ingredient in marijuana – at the time of the wrong way collision which took place on U.S. Highway 67 near County Road 1119.
6 out of 7 family members killed upon impact in wrong way collision
Along with intoxication manslaughter, Resecker hailing from Glen Rose is also charged with intoxication assault, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, according to Law and Crime.
The crash led to six of the seven people inside the van that the wrong way driver collided into being killed at the scene.
Declared dead at the scene was; Rushil Barri, 28; Nageswararao Ponnada, 64; Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada, 60; Naveena Potabathula, 36; Krithik Potabathula, 10; and Nishidha Potabathula, 9.
A seventh victim, Lokesh Potabuthala, 43, suffered severe injuries and now requiring ongoing resuscitation and rehabilitation for life debilitating injuries. To date, the 43 year old has not regained movement from his lower extremities, FOX4 reported.
The family, originally from India, and residing in Alpharetta, Georgia were visiting relatives in Texas.
Teen driver tested positive for THC
When the crash unfolded on December 26, 2023, Resecker was driving with a friend along US 67 in his white Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, with cops saying they found marijuana and a marijuana vape pen inside the vehicle.
A blood test also reportedly tested positive for THC.
Resecker allegedly veered over the double yellow line of an undivided highway, before colliding head-on with the family’s Honda Odyssey minivan.
The family tried to swerve out of his path, but were unable to get out of the way in time before the two vehicles plowing into each other on the highway.
Resecker’s passenger was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt at the time, but survived the crash and was airlifted to hospital.
The minivan’s lone survivor Lokesh Potabuthala was also reportedly not wearing a seatbelt, but no passengers were ejected from either vehicle.
‘He had very big dreams’
Helicopter rescue teams airlifted the survivors to nearby hospitals, including Resecker who was initially listed in critical condition and suffering severe head injuries, leading him to be mentally impaired.
Because of the 18-year-old’s injuries, a spokesperson for the Public Safety Department told FOX4 that he was deemed to be not ‘medically fit’ to be detained in jail.
This led a judge to place Resecker under house arrest and order he be fitted with a GPS monitor, and he later posted a $50,000 bond to remain confined to his home and avoid jail.
The surviving member of the family lost his wife, son daughter, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and cousin. At the time, 11Alive reported that he had lost his sight in the crash, and may never walk again.
According to a GoFundMe from the time, he was hospitalized in ‘critical condition undergoing multiple surgeries as he had a deep intestinal injury, several fractures all over his body including spine, ribs, and limbs.’
His cousin, Rushil Barri, 28, was driving the minivan at the time, and the family were returning from a trip to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.
Barri moved to the U.S. from India in August 2020 and settled in Texas: the other family members lived in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Speaking to NBC News after the crash, Barri’s roommate Ayyappala Bandaru said that at 4:01pm, a message was sent from his friend’s iPhone, saying the phone registered a crash.
‘We were in shock like what just happened,’ said Bandaru.
‘We tried reaching everyone in the car and no one is picking up.’
He said Barri was ambitious and driven.
‘We were like brothers,’ Bandaru said. ‘He’s actually like my brother over here.
‘He had very big dreams. He always used to think about tomorrow. He used to be like ‘Man, we need to rule this world.’
‘We came here with a lot of struggles.’
