Police have identified two people killed in a crash in north Phoenix Sunday as 54-year-old Ramesh B. Bolla and 21-year-old Chaitanya Bolla.
According to Phoenix police, just before 7 p.m., the victims were exiting a private driveway near 35th Avenue and Bell Road attempting to make a left turn to head northbound.
Police say the suspect, a 21-year-old man, was traveling southbound on 35th Avenue and collided with the victims' vehicle.
Both victims, father and daughter, were pronounced dead at the scene of the collision.
Ramesh Bolla moved to the United States from India ten years ago, and had been in Arizona for four years.
"His wife is a homemaker and she is not working, the daughter (Chaitanya) is the only daughter they have," said Venkat Kommineni, president of the Arizona Telugu association and family friend. "She lost everything from the financial point of view and from the family point of view. It is a very tragic and very emotional thing."
Chaitanya graduated from Westview High School and was in her final semester of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.
Kommineni says the family stayed in contact with friends from India, even though they have lived in the states for ten years.
"Since Sunday night my phone has been ringing constantly. We are far away from our homeland, but even when we are here we are all together, he said. "Everybody is supporting them, not only the Indian people but the local people also."
Police say impairment and speed are being investigated in the crash.
