Carlow’s Indian community is mourning the deaths of two men in Friday’s early morning car crash and have set up a fundraiser to assist with funeral costs and other expenses.
The two men aged in their 20s were named as Bhargav Chitturi and Suresh Cherukuri.
The pair are members of the Indian community and were travelling in a car with two others when the single-vehicle crash took place on the N80 in Leagh, Rathoe, at about 1.15am on Friday.
The two men were pronounced dead at the scene after the car struck a tree.
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Two other passengers of the car, a man and a woman aged in their 20s, were taken to St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
The friends had been sharing a house in the local area. All four recently finished third-level education at South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow.
“A black Audi A6 was travelling towards Carlow town when it traversed the road and hit a tree at Graiguenaspiddoge,” said Supt Anthony Farrell from Carlow Garda station.
“The car is believed to have travelled from the direction of the Mount Leinster area, through Fenagh and on to Carlow.
Gardaí have asked for witnesses and for any footage to be shared with them. They asked members of the public not to share images of the crash.
It is understood the four people involved met at Nine Stones car park on Mount Leinster a couple of hours before the crash. The meeting spot straddles the counties of Carlow and Wexford.
A fundraiser for expenses related to funeral costs and other expenses raised more than €25,000 in less than 24 hours.
In an online post, organiser Venkat Vuppala said: “We are deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Bhargav Chitturi and Suresh Cherukuri. It is with great sorrow that we announce the tragic car accident on January 31st at Carlow, that claimed the lives of these two Indian students from SETU Carlow.”
He added: “In this challenging period, we aim to unite in support of their families to help cover funeral costs and other financial challenges they may encounter.”
In just 24 hours the fund has received more than 400 donations, amounting to over €25,000 of its €30,000 target, as people, including members of the Indian community, contributed towards the expenses.
The crash occurred on the first anniversary of the deaths of three friends killed in another crash on the same stretch of road.
Katie Graham (19) from Arles in Co Laois, Daryl Culbert (21) from Kiltegan in Co Wicklow and Michael Kelly (25) from Nurney in Co Carlow died in a car crash in Carlow on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024.
Speaking in Cork, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “shocked” by news of the latest crash.
“We have to double down and work extremely hard on safety and on roads. There are a number of factors to that and that will be a priority of the new Minister for Transport.
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