US: 30-year-old Indian engineer killed, wife injured in hit-and-run

Washington: A 30-year-old Indian engineer has been killed and his wife critically injured when an intoxicated minivan driver rammed them from behind in a hit-and-run accident in the US city of Columbus.

Anshul Sharma died on the spot while his wife Samira Bharadwaj, 28, was critically injured when the driver hit the couple, both walking in the buffered bike lane, from behind in Columbus on Sunday.

Michael Demaio, 36, has been arrested by the police and criminal charges have been filed against him. The accused driver is now in a county jail and faces a
number of preliminary charges, including failure to stop after an accident resulting in death, injury and operating while intoxicated, the Republica newspaper said.

Sharma was pronounced dead at the scene, Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting said, who listed the death as homicide.

Sharma died from blunt force trauma to his head and upper cervical spine, Nolting added. His wife continues to be listed in critical condition at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, the report said.

Demaio "failed several field sobriety exercises", the police said. The minivan was found with substantial damage to its hood and a cracked windshield.

A spokeswoman of Cummins, a diesel engine manufacturer in Columbus, where Sharma worked as an engineer, said the company was in constant  communication with the Sharma family and providing support in efforts to return his body to India.

Meanwhile, family and friends of Sharma continued their efforts to take his body back to India and to support his wife, who was in a critical condition.