TX Teen Sentenced 65 Years For Killing Family Of 6 In Horrific Road Accident

Photo: The young family that was killed.

India-West News Desk

DALLAS, TX – “Justice for Rushil. Justice for Naveena. Justice for Nageswararao. Justice for Sitamahalakshmi. Justice for Krithik. Justice for Nishidha. Justice for Lokesh — and justice for this community.”

With those words, prosecutor Stephanie Miller closed her argument as a Texas judge sentenced 19-year-old Luke Garrett Resecker to 65 years in prison for a 2023 crash that killed six members of an Indian American family.

Resecker, who was 17 at the time, was under the influence of THC when his pickup truck veered into oncoming traffic on December 26, 2023, slamming head-on into a Honda Odyssey minivan on U.S. Highway 67 near Cleburne, Texas.

The victims — Rushil Barri, 28, of Irving, and five relatives visiting from Georgia — were returning home from a family outing at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. All but one of the seven passengers in the van were killed instantly. The deceased were identified as Naveena Potabathula, 36; Nageswararao Ponnada, 64; Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada, 60; 10-year-old Krithik Potabathula; and 9-year-old Nishidha Potabathula.

The lone survivor, Lokesh Potabathula, lost his wife, two children, cousin, and in-laws in the crash. He was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Police later discovered THC wax, a vape pen, and marijuana in Resecker’s truck. Toxicology tests confirmed active THC in his system at the time of the collision. His 17-year-old passenger, Preston Glass, also suffered a severe brain injury that left him permanently impaired.

During the trial in Johnson County, prosecutors described the tragedy as “entirely preventable.” Assistant District Attorneys Connor Day and Miller said the case stands as “a sobering reminder of the irreversible consequences of impaired and reckless driving.”