VISAKHAPATNAM: A visit to Australia turned into a tragedy for a Visakhapatnam family after a 33-year-old woman and her 67-year-old mother-in-law were killed when their car collided with a Porsche at a busy intersection in Point Cook, a south-western suburb of Melbourne, on Wednesday evening.The victims were identified as Neha, 33, and her mother-in-law Rama Devi, 67. Neha is survived by her husband and two children, both aged below 10 years.According to Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA) member JKM Raju, Rama Devi was the wife of GT Prasad, a former treasurer and joint secretary of VDCA.Prasad, a former Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) employee, and Rama Devi had travelled to Melbourne about two months ago to visit their son, who works as a software engineer there.Police said the Toyota Corolla carrying the two women collided with a Porsche Macan at the intersection of Boardwalk Boulevard and Saltwater Promenade in Point Cook. Both died at the scene despite emergency services’ efforts. Prasad’s daughter-in-law Neha was driving the car when the crash occurred. The 53-year-old Porsche driver survived and was taken to hospital with injuries.Victoria police have launched an investigation into the crash and are examining CCTV and other security footage captured shortly before the collision to establish the circumstances leading to the crash and determine whether speed was a factor.The tragedy has left the Telugu and Indian community in Melbourne shaken and plunged the victims’ family in Visakhapatnam into grief. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to provide financial assistance to the surviving family and help with expenses to bring back the bodies of the two women to Visakhapatnam.
